Normally, a patient on chemo doesn't need to avoid someone who had chickenpox vaccine. Talk with your health care provider for advice specific to your situation.
If the older adult has had chickenpox or the vaccine, there is no additional risk from exposure to chickenpox. If not, the person should avoid contact with the chickenpox patient.
Current recommendations are for two doses of chickenpox vaccine, regardless of the history of chickenpox or shingles.
If you are at risk for chickenpox, it makes more sense to get a chickenpox vaccine rather than taking acyclovir when caring for a chickenpox patient. Talk with your healthcare provider to be sure that taking antivirals is your best option given your particular medical history.
There have been few deaths occurring shortly after chickenpox vaccine and reported to the CDC's vaccine complication reporting service. The deaths found to be associated with chickenpox vaccine are typically in patients who were immunocompromised and should not have received the vaccine.
You should get it, when you find it easily affordable.
No, there is no reason to get chickenpox vaccine if you've had shingles. You should talk with your health care provider about shingles vaccine.
Yes, shingles vaccine is recommended for patients 60 and over whether they remember having chickenpox or not (see related link). You still could get shingles even if you don't remember having chickenpox.
First, you can't "catch shingles" from someone. You can get chickenpox from someone who has shingles, but only if two things are true:You have direct contact with the weeping shingles lesions; ANDYou have not had chickenpox or chickenpox vaccine in the past.You can't get chickenpox from someone with shingles if you are immune. You can't get it from being in the same room with them, either. A person with shingles can go about normal activities, including all work or school, as long as the lesions are covered.
You can only transmit chickenpox to someone if you have the chickenpox yourself.Once you had chicken pox you can not get it again-that is what is believed by doctors and scientists. You should be vaccinated for it because if you were not and did not have it when you were young you can get it when you are elderly but it is worse and called "shingles."
Acetaminophen should be enough to help with any low-grade fever or soreness from chickenpox vaccine. If it does not, contact your health care provider for advice specific to your situation.
Shingles is not contagious -- it can't be "caught" from someone else. People with shingles can give you chickenpox if you haven't had it. See related link below for information on transmitting shingles
Someone with chickenpox should stay home from work until all lesions are scabbed. In the US, your employer's policy about leave is individual to the company.