To think it should be free and part of the childhood vaccines?

[CottonCandy01]

Hello,

My friend's son is getting his chickenpox vaccine next week, I believe it is costing around 140-150 pounds for the two doses. It got me thinking about my own young child (currently 6 months) and if this is a path I should take - on balance, i think I will get it for her.

The problem I have with this, is after researching why we don't have it as part of the childhood vaccines here this is what it returned:

*So why doesn’t the UK use the chickenpox vaccine for children if it is safe and effective at preventing severe disease? All vaccines in the UK are assessed for their cost-effectiveness to ensure that the health budget spent on services which provide the greatest health benefit for the population as a whole.

In the last review of the chickenpox vaccine by the committee which advises the government on vaccines (the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, JCVI), the future modelling of the impact of vaccination indicated that there could be an increase in the rate of shingles in adults over time, which would make the vaccine programme not cost-effective.

This is because, if chickenpox in children disappears as a result of a vaccine programme, adults would no longer have their immunity boosted by exposure to their chickenpox-suffering children and grandchildren and would be more likely to get shingles. Put simply, the conclusion of the previous review was that it would not be cost-effective for the NHS to immunise children against chickenpox*

So if I'm reading that correctly, it is basically because we can't afford it? I'm not naive or an idiot, I know the NHS is hideously underfunded but I just think it is so wrong. I'm in a privileged position that I can afford to vaccinate my child, as can my friend, but for those who can't I think it is really crappy. Chickenpox is not always a mild disease, it doesn't look like something that should even be in circulation in 2021, I remember my younger siblings, crying in pain all night and hitting temps over 40, one of them had to go to hospital.

Not sure what my AIBU is here but I just can't believe it isn't part of the vaccination schedule over here when it is in so many other countries. Seems so wrong.

@Beseigedbykillersquirrels

If children have the chicken pox vaccine now they risk getting shingles (which is worse and can be more dangerous) when they are a teen or adult - what part of this aren't people understanding?

It's you who isn't understanding @FrangipaniBlue

One has to have had chicken pox to get shingles. If a child has been vaccinated against chicken pox they cannot suddenly get shingles as a teen or adult.

You’re both wrong. You can get shingles if you’ve had chicken pox OR the chicken pox vaccine. In fact, they’ve studied children who have had the vaccine and come down with shingles a few years later.

@PlanDeRaccordement It has to be said though, it is a much lower chance with the vaccine then if you have actually had chickenpox.

we paid for the dc to have the chicken poc vaxcine because

• eldest had eczema and chickenpox and inflamed skin are not a good combination
• dh and I can't afford to take 3 or more weeks off work (3dc) to keep dc home

money well spent imo.

I'd love to get DS the chicken pox vaccine but it's more money than I have right now. He's at nursery so might pick it up before I can afford it. I hope it's not too bad for him. The main reason I'd like to get him it is because I had terrible chicken pox when I was little and I had to stay away from my mum while I was sick because she was pregnant. My nana looked after me but it wasn't the same. It's kind of etched into my memory.

Sorry, haven’t RTFT but I’m just getting over shingles. I haven’t felt this unwell in a very long time.

My DM has been diagnosed with breast cancer so I asked my GP if she would be at risk from me if I were to visit her (support bubble).

GP sent a message back to say that people are only at risk from catching shingles if they HAVEN’T had either chickenpox or shingles before.

That's completely wrong.

Don't trust anyone here, google it. It is the reactivation of the CP virus.

GP sent a message back to say that people are only at risk from catching shingles if they HAVEN’T had either chickenpox or shingles before

Your GP is completely wrong I’m afraid! Shingles is the reactivation of the virus - if you’ve never had chicken pox, you can’t get shingles, but some have chicken pox so mildly that they’re not sure they ever had it. If you’re exposed to someone with chicken pox and you’ve had it, you can get shingles. If you’ve never had chicken pox you can catch chicken pox from an infected person but you can’t catch chicken pox from someone with shingles. Confusing eh?

www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/chickenpox

dh and I can't afford to take 3 or more weeks off work (3dc) to keep dc home

Right? One or other of my twins were off for a full month when they got it one after the other. And this came at the end of six months of constant illness from nursery. Bloody good job I wasn’t working full time, I’d have been fired long before the chicken pox!

I paid for dc to have the chicken pox vaccine. DH got his shingles vaccine at 52, paid for it. I will do the same at 50.

But, yes, as the OP said, all that should be available for free on the NHS. Lots of people can't afford it.

@SinkGirl You CAN catch chickenpox from someone with shingles.

You can't catch shingles from someone with shingles.

@CuriousaboutSamphire Possibly because it wasn't an injection. It was a sugar cube or dripped directly onto the tongue. It definitely was an injection in the 50s, the oral vaccine didn't come out till the 60s.

@VinylDetective

I'll be 70 next year

I’m a year behind you. I don’t remember having my polio inoculation at all, I know I did though.

Now if there had been social media my mum would probably have been moaning that you were younger than me but got it before me.

It was all a bit more laid back wasn't it.

@ConorMasonsWife - did you vaccinate against measles? Or rubella? Chicken pox can kill abs disable. When you could avoid that with a vaccine why wouldn’t you?

As someone who had chickenpox as a child and shingles twice as an adult, selfish though it is, I’d rather kids had chickenpox if it means fewer adults have shingles. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, not even Donald Trump!

I had to pay for Men B for both kids. For ds who is 14 I also had to pay for gardasil. The NHS needs help or re-thinking. It is overwhelmed even without COVID. I know someone sent for an emergency GP appt because a counsellor thought they might kill themselves. The GP said: you’ve taken more than your allocated 10 mins.

[quote PopUpName]@SinkGirl You CAN catch chickenpox from someone with shingles.

You can't catch shingles from someone with shingles.[/quote]
Sorry you’re right, I wrote it the wrong way round - I confused myself!

GP sent a message back to say that people are only at risk from catching shingles if they HAVEN’T had either chickenpox or shingles before

This is wrong. You don't catch shingles as its a reactivation of the chicken pox virus so you can only get shingles if you've had chicken pox before.

If you’re exposed to someone with chicken pox and you’ve had it, you can get shingles. If you’ve never had chicken pox you can catch chicken pox from an infected person but you can’t catch chicken pox from someone with shingles

This is also wrong. Exposure to chicken pox can help someone who's had CP before to not develop shingles - an immunity boost. Also you can get chicken pox from contact with the fluid from shingles blisters

YANBU. It’s outrageous that only those that can pay can have it. We paid, but it’s dreadful that it’s not provided as standard.

A fortnight after we paid a baby in our antenatal group was hospitalized with chickenpox complications. They hadn’t paid. Fortunately they recovered but even so. If it wasn’t for Covid we’d have probably got it from them before our vaccine had worked

I grew up abroad in a country where chickenpox vaccine is standard for all kids. I had the vaccine as a child, dis not stop me from getting chickenpox when my nursery child caught it at nursery and then gave it to me and both his siblings. At age 30+,it was reaaaaly bad, my face looked like a burn victim, completely unrecognisable. Apparently the vaccine is not as effective in giving you immunity and/or the immunity may not be permanent

Based on my experience, I d suggest just hoping ur kid gets it early in life and be done with it

Both of mine had the vaccine and I'm pleased they have. The complications from chicken pox, although not common, can be awful and sometimes fatal. We didn't want to take the risk and were in a very fortunate position of being able to afford the vaccination. If it means they need boosters later in life then so be it.

I hope it is added to the childhood immunisation schedule however i do wonder if sadly it will take a high profile case of a celebrity's child being very unwell (or dying, god forbid) for pressure to be put on for the change to be made.

Vulnerable children under consultant care are already vaccinated against chicken pox. By vulnerable I mean those children who could revoke seriously unwell or even die from CP. This includes transplant patients, oncology patients and those on immunosuppressants. So the most vulnerable are vaccinated on the NHS for free already.

Become seriously unwell that should say!**

Everything is about cost...of course it is. They have to weigh up what is going to be most beneficial and yes cost-effective. There seems to be this idea that the NHS should be able to provide all treatments available worldwide and quite simply...we can't. We have to prioritise and determine what will benefit the population. In the grand scheme of things chickenpox is generally not too bad for most. Therefore why would they spend money on it when they can fund something else which impacts the population on a larger scale?

My older two had chicken pox, my youngest has pretty bad eczema so she’s had the jab. I had a read around beforehand and immunity is thought to be pretty long lasting. I’ll remind her as an adult though to consider a booster if research suggests it’s useful.

As nice as it would be to get everything on the NHS, it’s a balance isn’t it. My eldest misses out on the flu spray each year, and also missed out on the Men B vaccine..that’s just how it is. I trust the people in charge of making the decisions are much better qualified than me!

@minipie

YANBU

The shingles argument definitely doesn’t stack up now that there is a vaccine against shingles.

Exactly.

I trust France and Germany and they offer it as part of the MMR.

There was talk that people are already sceptical about the MMR here so adding in another part world potential put more parents off

@evilkitten

My understanding is that it was going to be added to the vaccination schedule, but then the Wakefield/autism stuff happened, and it was pulled for political reasons. All mine were vaccinated privately.

Yes this!! 100%