To think it's bonkers to not vaccinate against chicken pox

Just got mine vaccinated because it was cheaper than taking weeks off work as unpaid leave.
Most of my school mum friends have either had it pass through their families, or have got adequate support networks so grandparents to look after poorly children, or they're SAHM so don't have the work element to consider.

One of my children was recently part of a hospital trial and one of the doctors on the research team told me that the CP vaccination is currently being approved for inclusion in the UK childhood vaccination schedule within the next couple of years.

I got both mine vaccinated and I’m so pleased I did. It did the rounds at school and neither of them got it. It can cause problems for parents working, obviously pain and discomfort in the children, plus cancellations of major life events like important holidays, weddings et cetera.

I spoke to the doctor about why isn’t included in the NHS routine vaccinations and they said at one point it was seriously being considered but it was around the time of the Autism/vaccination panic so the timing was felt to be unhelpful. Plus the issue of money of course.

If you can afford it, I highly recommend it. I don’t have time for people who whinge about their children getting chickenpox when they chose not to get the vaccination provided they have the means to do so.

My two were vaccinated. But that was nearly 30 years ago in the US. Interestingly it was I think a requirement for entering the state's school system. I wonder if that will change now with RFK at the health helm over there?

My son has disabilities and additional support needs. His neurologist advised me not to get him vaccinated against chicken pox. He said it was very likely it would wear off and he would catch as an adult which would potentially be much more serious than catching as a child.

The effects,of the vaccine don’t last as long as immunity from the disease which means kids that have been vaccinated are susceptible in their teens when the effects of CP are a much greater risk than in early years.

I lived and worked in the US when DC1 was little and made a conscious decision not to vaccinate.

My DC are vaccinated. I also don’t understand why other people don’t. I did loads of research before going ahead and couldn’t find any reason not to.

I agree. But I still don't have the money. The season we're in means every penny is account for. It is what it is.

Not everyone can afford it. And if your kids haven’t had it you probably don’t realise how looong it can take to get through everyone and the ways it’s different to a regular illness where they can head back to school after a few days, and therefore why it’s worth it to avoid all that illness for the kids, time you’re housebound and general inconvenience. It took 5 weeks to get through my older two kids so I after I had a third I got it for him as soon as he was old enough!

I meant to add also that the vaccine is for life.

I didn't know there was a vaccine available. My GP is always proactive about vaccinations and vitamins so I trust him to tell me when something is worth vaccinating against. Mine did get vaccinated against the flu this year.

Yes, the reason is money.

This. Presumably there's a reason why it's not been included in the childhood vaccination schedule?

I do know a child who was very poorly with CP but they are the exception rather than the norm. For my children and every other child I know it was a few days of mild illness then they were fine after. And now they are protected for life, but I believe with the vaccination they have to be re-vaccinated every 10 years for the rest of their lives (apologies if I have it wrong).

Nothing to do with vaccinations, that's because knowledge of autism has increased and thus it is more readily recognised and diagnosed now.

Plenty of people know about the vaccine but are too tight to pay for it. I’m not talking about people who genuinely couldn’t afford it. In my NCT group most mums had that stance.

I think the NHS not including it is a financial decision too. We got the vaccine done as soon as we could.

Yes, although rare it can be very serious, my Auntie is blind in one eye after having it badly, so it is worth considering the vaccination if you can afford to.

Autism is more accurately diagnosed here in Ireland, as opposed to the past where people with differences were brushed under the carpet.

Fixed that for you.

I was so unwell with chicken pox when I was a kid that I got my two vaccinated.

3 kids here. I don’t want to pay for it. There’s a good chance they’ll get it in one week and be back to school/work soon.

I also WFH so could work whilst they’re off.

Its rare to have serious complications from chickenpox

This was me too & I was gutted I didn't know about it until my son got chickenpox.

Would happily have paid privately to avoid the pain & scarring.

We had dd vaccinated, I did wonder if she'd get it anyway when it swept through her class, but it proved effective. It is fairly costly though, especially if you've more than one child.

Because it’s not provided as part of the set of childhood vaccinations.

Some parents won't know that you can pay for private immunisations.

Others might be unaware that there is a vaccine against chicken pox at all

Others may know, but not want to second guess the experts who decided not to include chicken pox with other routine immunisations

Others may not be able to afford it, especially if they have multiple kids

Others may have reasearched and found out that there is evidence that the vaccination offers poorer levels of lifelong immunity than contracting the disease. Then weigh up this against the small risks of serious ill health caused by the disease in children versus adults