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

@Annipoos these diseases haven’t “suddenly” become dangerous. I was born in 1967 the year before the measles vaccine was introduced. That year 100 children died of measles.

https://www.boots.com/online/pharmacy-services/chickenpox-vaccination-service?srsltid=AfmBOopzR0rRn52ZuMNN8czErS4HcPpj3yjgq52C6bqBuHNqGyRGsvZ_

It really isn't hard to Google before incorrectly correcting people.

Much better to get it as a kid than an adult. Done your son a favour. Dont be so ridiculous!!! Im
pleased my kids had it before their teens. Nothing like natural immunity.

Just be glad he'd had chicken pox now instead of as an adult. He will make friends and get over missing a week of school.

My son missed his first week at school due to Covid, much the same he didn’t know a single person going and thought everyone would have made friends by the time he got there. I spent the first day on tenterhooks but I needn’t have worried - he was absolutely fine so try not to worry

Nope, I had no idea either

Why would I deliberately try to get my child to catch a disease? I made it to adulthood without getting it and only got the vaccine when TTC so it’s not inevitable that everyone will get it. Might be less serious in childhood, but it’s not zero risk - so that needs to be weighed up against not getting it at all.

Point is, that’s the OP’s decision to make, not some selfish fuckwit’s like the parent who let their pox-ridden child out.

I think it's the bad timing that's so upsetting. The first week of high school is a big deal.

I had chicken pox for the first time at the age of 35.
Trust me he’s better to have it at this age rather than as an adult. The pain was horrendous and I was plastered in blisters, some have scared in places. Inconvenient at this time though I do agree.

Couldn't agree more. Some people on this thread really need to check their privilege.

@KM123456 - @littleredbumblebee‘s son had such a bad reaction to the first chickenpox vaccine that he was hospitalised - she clearly isn’t anti-vax, but was told by the doctors that he mustn’t have the second dose.

Common childhood disease with unpleasant to life threatening consequences. If your kids are not vaccinated they are likely to get it, and infect others. It often sweeps through a school if most kids are not vaccinated. He may take longer to get over it (it can drag you out).
The question now is: what other vaccines is he missing? And who has he infected? Just like you, the other parents chose not to vaccinate, but had enough money to take a caravan trip. Priorities.
No one has a good look here. Play Russian roulette, get shot.as someone else pointed out, he's not missing major exams, and doesn't seem to have major consequences.

Maybe your DS had already been in contact with chickenpox before the holiday? The incubation period for chickenpox is generally longer than a week.

Sorry but this is not correct. The vaccine is available privately but it’s in two parts, and the two vaccines cost around £450 altogether.

ETA a misunderstanding on my part. Full course (2 doses):£460

She’s not lying. She’s got confused with the shingles vaccine, which does cost £450. Why so aggressive?

Correct. It’s the same at Superdrug - £150 for two doses. It cost me £300 to get my two children vaccinated. Still a lot of money but I thought it was worth it (balanced it against the potential cost of time off work or losing a holiday or missing school).

I made it until my 30s without getting it, including when my child got it, so it’s not ‘inevitable’. I got the vaccination when trying for second as I didn’t want to put any future foetuses at risk.

It’s still a monumentally shitty thing to do to let your infectious child to play out with others without at least warning people.

The OP could have made a decision about her own child, then.

I genuinely don’t know anyone this crappy in real life.

Shingles is a reactivation of the varicella (chickenpox) virus in an adult. So having chickenpox as a child will not prevent you from getting shingles.

@Overnightoats1 “The UK is one of the only countries in the developed world where they don't vaccinate against chicken pox as part of the standard schedule. The US, most of Europe and even South Africa have it on their schedule.“

I don’t know if things have changed, but it is not part of normal universal childhood vaccinations scheme in most European countries.

Below is a link to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). On page 18 it shows, vis a vis the Varicella vaccination, the countries where there is (a) No recommendation, (b) recommended for susceptible adults and at risk groups, and (c) Universal vaccination. This was updated in 2014, so 10 years ago. Things may have changed.

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/media/en/publications/Publications/Varicella-Guidance-2015.pdf

It only seemed to have been universally provided in Luxembourg, Germany, Greece, some parts of Italy, Some parts of Spain, Cyprus, and Latvia.

Portugal, Sweden and the former Eastern Bloc seem to be the ones where there was no recommendation at all.

The rest were like the UK where it was recommended for susceptible adults and at risk groups.

I am really shocked how nasty some people are being because they think £150 for a vaccine is peanuts. You’ve heard of food banks? You know that there are families living in poverty unable to buy food?

You can still get covid, despite the vaccine.

Are PP ok? You can still get chicken pox when vaccinated. 😩🫣

The NHS advice is to stay at home when you have it and to avoid contact with people vulnerable to infection.

agree

That’s a real shame and super irresponsible of the mum, chickenpox is vile and I had it terribly as a kid, it was miserable so I made the decision to get my kids vaccinated as soon as I could! It is expensive though, it’s £75 a dose so hardly insignificant and I’m the only one at my DDs nursery who has