Varicella Virus Vaccination in the United States.

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is the cause of chickenpox (varicella) and shingles (zoster), and was once responsible for over 4 million infections in the United States annually. The development of a live attenuated VZV vaccine was initially viewed with extreme skepticism. Nonetheless, a VZV vaccine was developed in the 1970s by Takahashi and his colleagues in Japan and was eventually licensed in the US. It is now known to be one of the safest and most effective vaccines available and is administered worldwide. Here are described important factors that contributed to the successful research and licensure of the highly successful VZV vaccine.