Vast Majority Of Patients Infected With Chickenpox In New York City Outbreak Were Unvaccinated, Report Says

ABC News (5/30, Kekatos) says, “Nearly all the patients affected by an ongoing chickenpox outbreak in New York City are unvaccinated, according to a report published Thursday.” First observed by health authorities in October 2022, the outbreak “was found to be among people who recently migrated from or through central and South America and lived in a shelter or residential facility.” The report, co-authored by the CDC and New York City officials, found that “between September 2022 and March 2024, 873 people who tested positive for chickenpox were linked to the outbreak, according to the report.” Of those, “91.9% had no documentation of receiving a chickenpox vaccine prior to the beginning of symptoms. Data showed 6.8% received at least one dose and just 1.4% had received two doses.”