To hunt down these bastards who exposed my son to chicken pox

i was also covered when I got it, couldn’t put a finger between the spots on my head and face in particular, had them in my mouth and all sorts. Grim: the ones on my face then became infected with MRSA. Gross. I remember brushing my hair when it had scabbed and the scabs were coming off my scalp In handfuls! Was very glad my kids had it as teenies

I missed the first few days of secondary school (bad cold) in the 1980s and was nervous about going in but it was fine. I really enjoyed my schooldays and still have some of the friends I made there. He’ll barely remember this a few years from now, OP.

And a live vaccine would have likely had the same effect or maybe a but milder. Shingles is caused by having chicken pox so anyone who has had pox (in the vaccine or otherwise) can get shingles

The vaccine uses an attenuated live virus in a tiny dose so it’s weakened & not the same as encountering it in the wild in potentially a larger dose. It is very safe. Far safer than catching CP.

Shingles is the virus re-emerging when your immune system is low. Catching CP in the wild doesn’t protect you from it. Otherwise shingles would not have existed before the vaccine was invented when it did.

The vaccine has reduced the risk of shingles. The elderly are at higher risk of developing shingles as their immune systems wane, which is why they get a booster vaccine around age 60/65. It protects them against shingles.

What is genuinely baffling is people who don't understand that lots of families don't have £150 available. They don't own a car, or if they do a breakdown is a major catastrophe. They don't have a holiday every year.

£150 when you cant afford to put the heating on in winter or need food banks to feed your kids is not "relatively cheap".

I stand by what I said.

He could have still caught it even if he was vaccinated. Would still have been off school, just not been as sick.

You say CP is mild - my DH as stated above really suffered with it - he literally had sores on his feet, between his toes, on his penis. My son had it aged 4, and some of his spots became infected - he had an awful dose! If the vaccine had been available then I would have got it.

My DC2 had it aged 11 weeks. The GP said they wouldn't get it because of immunity from me and from breastfeeding, but she was wrong! Only a couple of spot, but aged 22 they got Covid, and a few months later, shingles.

Either way, if it is not covered by the NHS, there are good reasons behind that. No need to berate a mum for not using a vaccine that is not even in the list of essential vaccines.

It’s a normal childhood illness, we vaccinated our kids but I wouldn’t cancel a holiday over it unless I could get the money back. May we’ll have come out with it whilst away anyway.

Oh lord, where to begin? So many incorrect assertions in such a short post

This vaccination is not actually part of the national vaccine schedule in the UK

Chicken pox isn’t a big deal, it can also be caused by deficiencies. You may have found it’s been a complete fluke for him to “catch it”
theyll do anything to charge you for a vaccine nowadays.
its a short illness, very few complications. Don’t get upset about it, I think I’d be glad it’s happened as an adolescent over being an adult

I know I had shingles in my 20s and was very ill for a long time.
i just think the world has gone a bit mad since covid. You can’t vaccinate everything and as has been pointed out many people wouldn’t be able to afford it.
Anyway getting back to the point of the question, OP your son will be fine and make friends in no time x

Very much available, just not covered by the nhs.

Even the poorest people still have home insurance or car insurance

Often they don't have the first, the second is a legal requirement if they even have a car.

And it is completely irrelevant what the cots would be in the US.

A friend’s child had a stroke as a result of chicken pox - was touch and go as to whether they would survive, and lingering questions around long term impact. Mostly it is fine, but seems like an unnecessary risk when a vaccine is available.

as far as I’m aware, the chicken pox vaccine was never available in the UK. My paediatrician said that it was all about the esthetics rather than actual benefits. Must be true. DS was covered but no scars remain.

Vaccines aren't always safe and can have side effects, especially since it contains the live vaccine. So catching chicken pox from a kid at school has the same risk and shingles us a reactivated form of chicken pox which would happen vaccinated or not

Over 90% of the UK population has had chickenpox, usually get it much younger than your son, but as others have said, it's much better to have when younger, it can be a serious illness when caught as an adult, so I would venture to say those people have done your son a favour, if there were no plans to have him vaccinated very soon (dons hard hat and flameproof overalls)

Not that it's much consolation now, but it's better that he has it when he's young. My DH caught it from our then 2 year old eldest, and let's just say, it was far from pretty!

They’re like the terrorists of MN.

This.

If this was the case then vaccination seems like the obvious thing to do. Why would you not vaccinate yet simultaneously expect never come into contact with an incredibly common and incredibly contagious virus that virtually all unvaccinated people contract at some point?

I had chicken pox as a child, all 3 DC have had it when they were little and it never really crossed my mind about where it came from and who was the source of the infection- it was just an inevitable thing that was going to happen.