to give ds the chickenpox vaccine?

[backtowork2015]

My dd had chickenpox at 9m (4 yrs ago) and was really unwell but came off lightly compared to recent headline stories. Ds is 2.6 and I'm considering paying for the vaccine. I do worry we are over vaccinating kids these days but he had the rota virus vaccine along with the usual jabs as a baby and i probably should have questioned that if I was worried about multiple vaccine risks. I've had friends dc with horrible cases of chickenpox over recent years, hospitalised and requiring iv antibiotics. With hindsight I probably would have vaccinated my dd.
I have read reasons not to vaccinate would be possible less immunity (if course not completed) and then more severe disease later on and new exposure to virus increases immunity of others to shingles.
Is there any really sound reason I shouldn't just vaccinate him?

No! Do it vaccines save lives

It's usually a mild illness in children. DD had a pretty bad strain of it and was very poorly. I still wouldn't have vaccinated her instead.

Why not HeCantBeSerious?

I am getting my kids vaccinated and every medical/ scientific professional I know has done the same.

Because of the reasons in the OP, mainly. MMR, absolutely. Chicken pox vac, no ta.

Chickenpox rarely has serious side effects.
Those who tend to be badly effected are already immune compromised.

There is always a risk with giving a vaccine which can include life changing damage. You should always make an informed choice. Read the leaflet look at potential side effects.

Ask yourself would I rather my child felt
Poorly for a couple of week or had one the potential side effects. My friends child developed epilepsy after one vaccine so I don't take any vaccine decision lightly.

The thing I always wonder about with the chicken pox vaccine is does it provide life
long immunity or does it wear off as olde. If it does can they then get it as an adult? In which case it would be much worse to have it then.

They don't know how long it lasts. (I've seen 10 years as a lower limit and 20 as a higher limit.)

I have three dc and the older two had CP (big age gaps). with dc3 we decided to give the vaccine and have no regrets whatsoever.

Chicken pox can be horrible, with long lasting consequences. I absolutely would vaccinate. In fact I tried to with dc2 after dc1 was so ill but was told by an incompetent nurse that the vaccine didn't exist. By the time I got round to taking it further she caught it anyway and was also really ill.

I'm interested to read about that HeCantBeSerious - do you have a source?

Thanks Serious - given that info you must be crazy to do that. I've had shingles as an adult and that was bad. Chicken pox as an adult is meant to be terrible...plus imagine it running out at child bearing age and being exposed when pregnant.

Yes, I did. Job done. Why wait for them to catch it, if you can prevent it, yo me it's a no brainer.

Madame - it then becomes the DCs decision to get the booster so no guarantees.

I went for the varicella vaccine without hesitation after ds had every horrible little thing possible after he started nursery (including rotavirus and suspected meningitis). I couldn't bear him being covered in spots too and my work weren't too happy about the time off either so it was an easy decision. A year or so later there was a massive outbreak at nursery and ds was happily playing with kids who were covered some hours later and being taken home. I figure his immunity got a boost then, and the jab worked!

www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/varicella/hcp-effective-duration.htm

Both of my dc had CP in April...but I don't think I would have vaccinated (well, I hadn't and they're 8 and 6).

CP is common and more often that not mild. There are scary cases that you hear about but they are very, very rare. There will be a 'worst case' scenario with plenty of mild illnesses.

I'm all for vaccinations, mine have had all of them...but I wouldn't vaccinate against CP. Especially if there are concerns over how long immunity lasts.

My dgd had chicken pox at 2. She was really poorly, more spots then a dalmation. Every where, in her eyelids, her privates, up her nose, absolutely covered. 7 years later she still has scars on her body which she is self conscious about. She was not immune compromised, perfectly healthy before. Chicken pox can be an awful illness even for healthy children.
Why not vaccinate and avoid this risk?

plus imagine it running out at child bearing age and being exposed when pregnant.

That is a very good point lemonwords for those with dds

You're not avoiding the risk. You're delaying it to adulthood, when the disease can be even worse.

Chickenpox this year seems to have been particularly nasty - we've admitted more kids this year to the intensive care units I cover than I've seen in the past few years - the majority of them have been kids who are normally well and have no underlying health concerns. If I had kids I would vaccinate them.

When u purchase the vaccination, as you do from a private GP, they will prescribe two jabs with an interval To give maximum protection.
It doesn't wear off.

The vaccine has proved to be effective for at least 21 years (since it was rolled out nationally in the US and Japan) - the longer term efficacy is unknown. When ds was vaccinated the gp recommended he have immunity checked in his 20s (but this depends on how effective it is proving to be in above countries).

Unfortunately it isn't just children with underlying health conditions that can suffer the worst consequences of chicken pox, yes, they may be rare, but can be devestating. We vaccinate against other highly contagious childhood diseases that can have rare but devestating consequences, so why not chicken pox.

In 10 yrs or 20 yrs time we will have a better idea of how long the vaccine lasts, be able to plan a booster programme if needed or may develop a more long lasting vaccine - I'd rather a child was protected now and potentially need a booster in 10 or 15 yrs than not.

I'd say the evidence for efficacy is rather good ....
"Duration of Protection
It is not known how long a vaccinated person is protected against varicella. But, live vaccines in general provide long-lasting immunity.

Several studies have shown that people vaccinated against varicella had antibodies for at least 10 to 20 years after vaccination. But, these studies were done before the vaccine was widely used and when infection with wild-type varicella was still very common.
A case-control study conducted from 1997 to 2003 showed that 1 dose of varicella vaccine was 97% effective in the first year after vaccination and 86% effective in the second year. From the second to eighth year after vaccination, the vaccine effectiveness remained stable at 81 to 86%. Most vaccinated children who developed varicella during the 8 years after vaccination had mild disease.(1)
A clinical trial showed that children with 2 doses of varicella vaccine were protected 10 years after being vaccinated. Fewer people had breakthrough varicella after 2 doses compared with 1 dose. The risk of breakthrough varicella did not increase over time.(2)"

Hazel jane, you're right, we're encouraged to vaccinate against a brand new flu virus every year!