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The U.S. FDA quietly approved a change in the package insert for Merck’s Varivax, or chickenpox vaccine, to include secondary transmission of the virus as a side effect of the vaccine.
What this means is that Merck is admitting that recently vaccinated individuals can shed the virus (secondary transmission) to “susceptible,” i.e., unvaccinated, people. This can include “healthy as well as high-risk” individuals, the FDA said.
Coincidentally, the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine was updated in July 2020 on the National Institute of Health’s Stat Pearls pages. Adverse effects to the vaccine can include a breakthrough rash, and “when an individual has this rash after getting the vaccine, other household members are susceptible to transmission,” the webpage says.
SOURCES:
U.S. FDA September 15, 2020
NIH Stat Pearls July 10, 2020