AIBU To give the chicken pox Vaccine to daughter

[ChampooPapi]

Posting her for traffic as well as the fact I may be being very unreasonable!

Should I just wait for her to succumb naturally like myself (and other daughter) way back when.

Or if you can afford it should it be done? my daughter is coming up to 1 year and it seems its given between 1 year and 15 months

Is it worth it?

Thanks all!

@BertieBotts so after the booster as a teen the child is protected for life?

Thanks @Smile19, I think I'm going to go for it

I did for dd2 as dd1 was horribly ill with it (plus a week of my annual leave used)

I plan on getting our daughter vaccinated for it when she's old enough. Chicken pox is miserable to have.

@Confusedbeetle really useful to know that, much appreciated.

Thank you everyone! Got the little one toddling around so can't reply to everyone.

Really glad I posted, I have Google of course but I think with some issues hearing people with actual experience is so much more helpful then cold hard internet searching

The NHS hasn't added it as standard because of the cost

Not the reason. It's to do with shingles in later life.

@BlackInk but that NHS link was very helpful too, didn't see that when I looked on the NHS website

OP I'm not familiar with the current medical advice. The vaccination might be a lot more effective and lasts longer now. But just thought you should be aware of the off-chance of my situation, and make sure your DCs vaccination lasts for life. No one told me mine will stop being effective (and I didn't have a booster) and the result was disastrous. If I knew I wasn't immune fully I would've gotten a booster before having children.

mine are both vaccinated. chickenpox can go horribly wrong, and both of my cousins got severe facial scarring from it.
the new vaccine (2 doses) is much more effective thsn the older one (1 dose) as wwll

Be careful. The World Health Organization doesn't recommend immunizing infants unless there is >80% uptake in the country/region. Chicken pox caught in childhood is relatively innocuous; catching it as a middle-aged adult, after the vaccine-induced immunity has worn off, is likely to be more unpleasant. www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/chickenpox-vaccine-questions-answers/

I vaccinated both mine. We get notifications at least 3 or 4 times a year from nursery that children there have chickenpox so the hands of them catching it were very high. It's 2 weeks off nursery if they get it, and with nursery costing £60 a day each the £120 pounds each we spent on the vaccine was the same cost as them missing only 2 days.... I also know of several children who were very ill with it, it's definitely not always a minor illness.

Another benefit of having it is that the vaccine should also prevent most children who've had it getting shingles later in life - it's a weakened live virus and in most cases the weakened version can't reactivate to cause shingles. See www.google.com/amp/s/amp.livescience.com/45804-chickenpox-vaccine-cause-shingles.html

DS had the vaccine but ended up with a mild case of CP about 3 weeks after the second jab, no idea if it was because of the jab or just bad timing. Whichever it was the spots didn’t bother him much & they’d scabbed over after 3 days, so still happy we had it done.

Of course Yanbu. Vaccinations are one of the greatest inventions of our time. Why wouldn’t you?

Another benefit of having it is that the vaccine should also prevent most children who've had it getting shingles later in life - it's a weakened live virus and in most cases the weakened version can't reactivate to cause shingles. See www.google.com/amp/s/amp.livescience.com/45804-chickenpox-vaccine-cause-shingles.html

This article is from the USA, where the rate of childhood varicella-zoster vaccination is 90%. These children are unlikely to have significant exposure to the virus later in life as the vast majority of people around them will have been vaccinated. This isn't the case in the UK.

Had my kids done, will get my baby done too when he's a tad older x

I work in public health (well educated degree etc)
so had all primary immunisations for both DC’s and discussed chickenpox vaccine with my GP who said definitely not needed.
My DS got chickenpox age 5 and was incredibly unwell my DD had it 12 days later and was just a little unwell but I remember being frantic to immunise her but realised it was to late.
DS has recovered but back and shoulders still have mild scars but he really suffered so if I could do it again I would definitely pay for private vaccine.

@HarryTheSteppenwolf nowhere in the nhs link does it mentione how long vaccination lasts. the risk is higher for unvaccinated adults.
there is no data for how libg the vaccine lasts as it hasn’t been around for that long, it looks like 15-20 years minimum. afterwards, a boosted is a good idea, as with most vaccines. but in 15 years, we will know more

I’m so glad that you have decided to do it.

I was lucky that my 2 1/2 year old hadn’t caught it before I heard about the vaccination. I took her to the travel clinic of the local NHS hospital where they do paid for vaccinations. She had one job then another maybe six weeks later.

It was worth while emotionally and financially. I didn’t have to deal with a sick child or one who had scars or other side affects of chicken pox. She’s avoided chickenpox all through nursery and primary school despite many other children getting it. That means I haven’t had to take unpaid leave from work.

She wasn’t ill after the vaccines but I probably gave Calpol, I can’t remember. I definitely gave chocolate buttons

It's given as a standard part of the vaccine program in lots of other EU countries and the USA

My doctor got his kids done

I just looked on it as can I afford a week off work with them if they get it and can't go to nursery?

The immunity given by the vaccine can wear off so there is a small chance that those vaccinated as children may get chicken pox later in life - as several on this thread have experienced. I remember reading a while ago that it’s therefore fine to get boys vaccinated as the risk is small but for girls the potential consequences of getting chicken pox whilst pregnant can be disastrous so it’s better not to have them vaccinated and let them get the disease when younger.
I’m considering getting the vaccine for my baby DD but can’t find any mention of this argument now though. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

Currently considering this for Ds too. Some nasty cases I have seen lately, plus the fear every time we go on holiday...

My ds has long term health implications from the cp he had as a baby. I wish I had, had his older sister (who he caught it from) vaccinated.

Yes it is usually a minor childhood illness but so was measles once upon a time and most of us accept the vaccination for that.

My DC was exposed to CP and then became seriously ill with something else shortly afterwards. It was quite difficult for the hospital to manage, as they couldn't put DC in proximity to other vulnerable children. It added stress to an already stressful situation. We did vaccinate after that as DC didn't get CP after all.

for girls the potential consequences of getting chicken pox whilst pregnant can be disastrous so it’s better not to have them vaccinated and let them get the disease when younger.

I’m very pro-vax....but this is why I didn’t get the chicken pox vaccination for my DD. (Well, I debated it for a long time and then she actually caught it!) Because it isn’t a “standard” vaccination, there is a lot of it around and you are likely to be exposed to it (unlike in, say, the US where nearly everyone is vaccinated). And the worse case must be having your immunity wear off when you’re pregnant (and likely to be around small children with the disease). Not an easy decision though.

This is something I've literally been contemplating today.
My understanding is that having chicken pox as a child, does not prevent you from having shingles as an adult. So potentially having the chicken pox vaccine would also not stop you having shingles as an adult. But it would probably stop you getting chicken pox as a child.

So either way you could still get shingles. But with the jab, you're unlikely to get chicken pox.

Is that right??