The vaccine was just becoming available when my CAH son got the chicken pox at the age of 11yrs old. It was HORRIBLE for him, he was covered from head to toe. He was exposed to the pox at least 15 different times starting when he was 2yrs old, & never caught them. He got double doses of cortisone the whole time he was breaking out with new pox. He ran a slight fever off & on throughout the ordeal, but he was a real trooper & came through it with only bad memories of being very uncomfortable, & one scar from the first poc that we both thought was a pimple. Personally, if it was available before he finally caught them, I'd have deffinitly had him get the shot!!