Home / Ask the Experts / Ask The Experts / A child in our practice received her first dose of varicella vaccine when she was 12 months old and her second dose when she was 14 months old. The second dose was only 2 months after the first. Is the second dose valid or does it need to be repeated?

Varicella (Chickenpox)
Scheduling Vaccines

A child in our practice received her first dose of varicella vaccine when she was 12 months old and her second dose when she was 14 months old. The second dose was only 2 months after the first. Is the second dose valid or does it need to be repeated?

The recommended minimum interval between two doses of varicella vaccine for children 12 months through 12 years of age is 12 weeks. However, the second dose of varicella vaccine does not need to be repeated if records show it was separated from the first dose by at least 4 weeks. See www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/general-recs/timing.html, Table 3-2.

Last reviewed: May 16, 2023

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This page was updated on May 16, 2023.