Q: My son is 14 months old. Please advise if the chicken pox vaccination is required or not? I understand from my friends that the chicken pox is not prevalent in India and therefore, it is not essential to have my son vaccinated for the same.

A:Chicken pox does occur not uncommonly in India, and the disease is relatively milder in younger children than in adolescents and older children. However, it can very rarely also cause complications in those who develop the disease. Thus if you can easily afford the cost of vaccine, it would be advisable to get the child immunized. If affordability is an issue you can wait till the age of 10 years. If the child does not have chicken pox infection by that age, then you could get the child immunized at that age (the logic being that the illness is usually mild till this age).