To think we should routinely vaccinate against chicken pox?

[FoxPass]

Oldest ds is nearly 5 and had it a fortnight ago, was really spotty but not too ill. Now youngest ds (2) has it and he is absolutely covered in spots, totally miserable and itchy, hardly able to sleep and trying to claw himself I am doing everything I can to make him more comfortable but I feel so vexed for him! Why on earth don't we routinely vaccinate for it? it can be given in special circumstances, and other countries do it. The nhs website doesn't explain why not. It seems so needless for kids to go through this when there's a vaccine

there may be a case for vaccinating at risk individuals

It is already offered on the NHS to those with underlying health risks, ds has had it because of lung problems, which would make it very risky for him to catch cp.

DD had it, we are in Canada. Then, she helpfully caught CP. I had CP twice as a child, maybe we are just CP magnets.

It is fine but not particularly effective.

Yanbu

They're planning on rolling it out in uk but don't for two reasons

1. they want to get enough coverage with the shingles vaccine for the elderly
2. they want to focus efforts on ensuring sufficient coverage for other childhood immunisations before a new campaign

I got my children vaccinated privately. There haven't been any problems thus far with the vaccine wearing off in counties which have vaccinated for a long time. Worst case, they get a booster. Another plus is that there is less chance of later developing shingles with vaccinated kids. Since it is likely that within a few years kids will be routinely vaccinated against cp, this last unvaccinated generation of children will be at greatest risk of shingles in later adulthood.

Seeing how some of children's friends have suffered, it was 50 pounds well spent IMO but I do think it's unfair that an effective vaccine is denied to those who can't afford it.

Hmm well you would need a few years of a fully vaccinated population with no circulating chickenpox before you can really assess whether it wears off. Any circulating chickenpox boosts both natural and vaccination immunity. Also problematic in an imperfect vaccine - which makes outbreaks more likely amongst the vaccinated (which this one sounds to be although I haven't looked into it).

And while decent sized whooping cough outbreaks in adults are fine from the adult's point of view (problems being for the babies around them), chickenpox in adults is nasty.

I'd rather watch the other countries for a another 20 years really and see what happens there.

YANBU

I got dd vacinated against chickenpox privately. Ds had a hideous time with chickenpox, he ended up having the rash treated with anti biotics and steriod cream.

"Seeing how some of children's friends have suffered, it was 50 pounds well spent IMO but I do think it's unfair that an effective vaccine is denied to those who can't afford it. "

£50 is a bargain. We had to pay £180 for a two jab course. I would like the chicken pox vacine available through the GP at a sensible cost in a similar way to travel vacines.

DD (1) has had the vaccine (DS has compromised immunity). I would much rather she was unimmunised and got chicken pox normally but can't take the risk to DS' health.

The vaccine lasts around 20-25 years so if she decides to have children in her 20s...

And we still need to keep her off nursery if its going round because the vaccine isn't brilliantly effective, but it's better than nothing.

Someone on here has also said that, if you are vaccinated and still catch it it can be more dangerous (although DS's consultant said it would be milder...)

Oh good god, I should NOT have just read backwards on this thread about adults making up a high proportion of cp deaths.

Rock--> Trazzle

Trazzletoes
I also understood that if you get breakthrough chickenpox when vaccinated it's much milder. I think the thing about how long the vaccine lasts is that it lasts 20-25 years for sure but could last longer - just that it's only been around that long for them to ascertain. Your dd can always have a booster as an adult if it starts wearing off.

Trazzle, we were told that if ds caught cp, it would be a milder form, because of the vaccine. A friend who has had all 3 of her boys vaccinated said that they had all caught it, but had a couple of spots for a few days.

Our dr said that ds should be tested for immunity when he is a teen, and given a booster if necessary.

Vaccine (and natural) immunity will last longer in a population with circulating chickenpox - so it may end up being like whooping cough and be a ten year jobby of chickenpox outbreak cease. May not of course, might last longer. It's very hard to predict how long immunity will last because it isn't just dependent on how long it works in an ideal vaccination there are other factors as well.

If you catch it after vaccination it should either be milder form (as you have partial immunity) or 'normal' form (as the vaccination hasn't worked at all). It shouldn't be more serious. Of course there's quite a bit of variation naturally so if it hasn't worked at all you can still get something that looks quite serious after vaccination.

DS2 had just a few spots with natural chickenpox. His brothers had more typical cases.

And I had no spots at all with natural chickenpox.I assumed I'd never had it, but after an exposure during pregnancy had immunity checked - and there is was- evidence of a previous infection.

I assume I did the same with mumps as I have never had it, but had repeated exposures so must have picked up immunity along the way at some stage. Measles I remember (and german measles).

Now german measles immunity I did check before pregnancy (on NHS) and as expected it was there.

You can have asymptomatic anything. Mumps is asymptomatic in a third of cases in young children. You need to come into contact with the pathogen, but you don't need to have an illness to develop immunity.

This looks an interesting recent (this year) paper - and may explain why the UK isn't keen to introduce a vaccination In the prelicensure era, 95% of adults experienced natural chickenpox (usually as children)-these cases were usually benign and resulted in long-term immunity. Varicella vaccination is less effective than the natural immunity that existed in prevaccine communities. Universal varicella vaccination has not proven to be cost-effective as increased HZ morbidity has disproportionately offset cost savings associated with reductions in varicella disease. Universal varicella vaccination has failed to provide long-term protection from VZV disease.

(Published in a sensible journal)

We vaccinated dd as she reached her teens without any outward sign of having caught chickenpox. She did feel poorly for a day after both shots, at it cost us a fortune, but I'm glad that we've gone for it. I guess she may need a booster at some point.

oh and the second one her arm swelled up impressively around it. Shes not had that with any other jabs, which made me a bit curious.

I haven't had chicken pox yet and I'm 20 and pregnant, I have heard that as you get older it is a lot worse than getting it as a child.

If there was a vaccination I would get it however if I knew someone who had chicken pox I would take my DS over as I know that once you've had it you can never get it again, Not nice to deal with but reassuring when they get it young.