AIBU?
Am I being unreasonable?
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KihoBebiluPute · 17/05/2021 06:58
What @DancesWithDaffodils said. It's not cost-effective to vaccinate on this one because the incidence of complications that make cp more serious is so low that the benefit of a vaccinated population isn't really worth it. Plus if kids were vaccinated against cp, the rates of shingles in the older adult population would go up and that would have a massive cost impact and be very detrimental.
MissyB1 · 17/05/2021 07:12
We can afford it on the NHS - that argument is just silly. It has been considered by the department of health (according to my GP), but because of vaccine hesitancy, especially around MMR, they didn’t want parents freaking out over a “new” vaccine. You can see that from the way some people are refusing the Covid vaccine.
The idea was to have an MMRV (varicella) vaccine.
There was also a belief at one time that it would increase the rate of shingles in the community, although that idea has been pretty much debunked now. And anyway we have a shingles vaccine.
I personally know two families who lost young children to chickenpox.
DappledThings · 17/05/2021 07:13
EvilOnion · 17/05/2021 07:21
I know a family who lost their 3yo due to CP complications.
Even they agree that complications are very, very rare and so the NHS cannot afford to vaccinate everyone against it.
The NHS has limited funds and is there to treat people who need urgent care for whatever reason. CP usually. Doesn't warrant that.
DappledThings · 17/05/2021 07:27
"There's a worry that introducing chickenpox vaccination for all children could increase the risk of chickenpox and shingles in adults.
While chickenpox during childhood is unpleasant, the vast majority of children recover quickly and easily.
In adults, chickenpox is more severe and the risk of complications increases with age.
If a childhood chickenpox vaccination programme was introduced, people would not catch chickenpox as children because the infection would no longer circulate in areas where the majority of children had been vaccinated.
This would leave unvaccinated children susceptible to contracting chickenpox as adults, when they're more likely to develop a more severe infection or a secondary complication, or in pregnancy, when there's a risk of the infection harming the baby.
We could also see a significant increase in cases of shingles in adults.
When people get chickenpox, the virus remains in the body. This can then reactivate at a later date and cause shingles.
Being exposed to chickenpox as an adult (for example, through contact with infected children) boosts your immunity to shingles.
If you vaccinate children against chickenpox, you lose this natural boosting, so immunity in adults will drop and more shingles cases will occur."
Twilightstarbright · 17/05/2021 07:29
I got my DC vaccinated on the advice of my consultant because I’m immunocompromised. So it might be a mild illness to many but it’s serious for me and other IC people.
However I believe it didn’t pass the cost benefit analysis. Quite a few countries do include it in vaccination programmes.
scaevola · 17/05/2021 07:35
The amount of harm the wild disease causes, though tragic for some families, is not that great across the whole population.
It's a bit like not aiming for zero covid - there's a level of harm that the population just accepts (or has to accept)
I d think NHS jabs shouid be available to those with known complicating factors (such as having severe immune issues, themselves or immediate cohabitants)
GappyValley · 17/05/2021 07:39
Every single doctor and medic friend of mine paid privately for their DC to be vaccinated and strongly encouraged their friends to do the same so that tells me everything I need to know about how ‘harmless’ it really is
And as pp said, most other developed countries include it in the standard vaccination schedule so the NHS excuses are just justifying not wanting to cover the cost of it.
A lot of that list is clearly bullshit because none of it is an issue in other countries which routinely vaccinate
Personally, as well as not wanting to put my DC through the unnecessary misery of being ill, the economic cost of needing time off work to look after them far exceeded the cost of the jab. I’m sure it’s the same for most families
pantsville · 17/05/2021 07:40
The NHS has limited funds and is there to treat people who need urgent care for whatever reason.
I respectfully disagree with this, the NHS is there to treat any health issue, urgent and non urgent. I feel like the bar is constantly set lower and lower for what we should expect from the NHS. Healthcare is so much more than just stopping people from dying when they’re in an emergency.
I also wish the chickenpox vaccine was available free, as it is in many other places.
Perhaps a compromise could be to offer it free of charge for those who seek it out but not give it as part of routine vaccinations.
StrawberryLipstickStateOfMind · 17/05/2021 07:43
I'd have preferred the NHS to have had a catch up programme for young children when the Men B vaccine was introduced, given what a serious illness Men B is. Children born from May 2015 had this on the schedule but there was no catch up programme for children born before this (my son was born three months too early to receive it). Chicken pox is mild the vast majority of the time- same cannot be said for meningitis.
We were fortunate and could pay privately for the men b jab for our two children but not everyone can.
Iheartmysmart · 17/05/2021 07:46
It’s not always a mild and harmless illness in children. I had it very badly as a 10 year old, ended up on a cocktail of drugs to try and give me some relief from the pain and itching and was off school for the best part of a month. Even now, over 40 years later, I have considerable scarring on my face.
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