Isn't it better to just catch chickenpox?
Here is what the checked sources say. Each title links to the original.
Varicella (Chickenpox): The Disease & Vaccine
Before the vaccine arrived in 1995, about 4 million US children caught chickenpox each year, causing about 10,000 hospitalizations and 100 deaths a year. CHOP says natural chickenpox can lead to strep skin infections, pneumonia, brain inflammation and stroke, and adults are 10 times more likely than children to be hospitalized. Since vaccination, cases fell about 97%. Common side effects are a sore arm, low fever, and a mild rash in about 4 to 6 of every 100 people. People who are pregnant, severely immune-compromised or severely allergic to gelatin should not get it.
Near elimination of varicella deaths in the US after implementation of the vaccination program
Using national death records, researchers found that during the first 12 years of US chickenpox vaccination, deaths with chickenpox as the underlying cause fell 88%, from 0.41 to 0.05 per million people. The drop was 97% among people under 20. Before the vaccine, an average of 13 children aged 1 to 4 and 16 children aged 5 to 9 died of chickenpox each year. The study compared national trends before and after the program began, and the authors credit the decline to vaccination.
Incidence of Herpes Zoster Among Children: 2003-2014
Catching chickenpox leaves the virus in the body, where it can return later as shingles. This study of over 6.3 million US children from 2003 to 2014 found vaccination was linked to far fewer shingles cases: 38 per 100,000 person years in vaccinated children, 78% lower than in unvaccinated children (170 per 100,000). Shingles in children overall fell 72% over the period. Several authors have received vaccine-maker research funding for unrelated studies.
Measles-mumps-rubella-varicella combination vaccine and the risk of febrile seizures
The vaccine has a real, small risk worth knowing. Comparing 83,107 toddlers who got the combined MMRV shot with 376,354 who got MMR and chickenpox shots separately, researchers found fever and febrile seizures rose 7 to 10 days after any measles-containing vaccine, not after the chickenpox vaccine alone. The combined MMRV shot caused about 1 extra febrile seizure for every 2,300 doses compared with giving the two shots separately.