To have my child vaccinated against chicken pox...

[MummaT86]

... even though there's no medical reason to do so (i.e. chicken pox doesn't pose a risk to anyone he's in contact with)?

To be honest my reasons are kind of selfish for getting him vaccinated - he picks up everything from nursery so it's only a matter time I think. We've got a holiday booked in September and I understand you can't fly for 7 days after the first spot.

Has anyone had their child vaccinated privately and why did you do it? I haven't read any cons to the vaccination itself in respect of the child being vaccinated; only to the wider population hence why the vaccine isn't part of the routine NHS program.

A lot of misunderstandings on this thread.

The vaccine is up to 98% effective at preventing any chickenpox, and in studies 100% effective at preventing severe cases.

It's not that it wears off after 25 years, it's just that it's only been in use that long so there isn't the data to say it's effective longer.

The NHS doesn't offer it because kids running around with it exposes grandparents who get an immunity boost and are less likely to get a flare up of secondary shingles. It's cheaper to look after the 0.1-0.2% of children that would be hospitalised with it than the # of gparents hospitalised with shingles.

I vaccinated my kids because I could afford it & I didn't see why they should suffer to boost my or my parents immunity. They can get the shingles vaccine privately.

It's routine in the US and many other countries. In the US it's estimated to have saved 2000 lives.
What's best for the NHS accountants isn't necessarily what's best for your family on an individual level.
Definitely do it if you can afford to. A lot of friends weren't aware of it until their kids came down with it and annoyed when they realised it could have been avoided. The younger they get it the better (more effective) it is.

I did it
Absolutely the right decision for us
The cost (both financial and emotional) of chicken pox easily outweighs the cost of the vaccine for us.

I know a GP who has decided against it for her children because the immunity from the disease is well tested and effective and the immunity from the vaccine is not as it is relatively new.

I had both my kids vaccinated. No side effects, and we've survived several nursery outbreaks unscathed

Weird. The chickenpox vaccine has been on the schedule in the US for almost 30 years. I wouldn't call that even relatively new

I had my DDs CP vaccine booked when she caught CP just after her first birthday. Thankfully it was mild but CP can be nasty, it can also lead to serious illness so when DC2 comes along they'll be getting vaccinated against it, most western countries actually give out the CP vaccine alongside the likes of the MMR, I'm not sure why we don't.

Meant to add
Some info on the vaccine on US site:
https://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/vaccine-infographic.html

This article suggests the case for not vaccinating kids to prevent adult shingles is less strong than thought

https://elifesciences.org/for-the-press/1ccc3639/chickenpox-vaccination-does-increase-shingles-cases-but-mainly-in-young-adults

I got my daughter vaccinated.

I thought she had it when she was under a year old. Turned out to be something else but it worried me because I never had it as a child. My GP simply didn't believe me when I told her this, insisting I MUST have had it and just don't remember. Nevertheless she sent me for a blood test (this was pre covid when you could actually have a blood test at your surgery whilst you were there) and said we would have the results in a week's time. The next day she rang and said she'd rushed the results through just in case it was pox that DD had and "you're absolutely right, you have no antibodies against it" At that point she advised I get myself vaccinated if I was willing and able to. I asked about vaccinating DD and she said all she could say was it wasn't part of the NHS schedule so she couldn't advise. I decided that pox is at best unpleasant and I'd rather vaccinate her as well so I'm not waiting for her to come home with it.

I didn't do it but with hindsight I would've . My son wasn't so poorly but does have scars. But as time goes on they are less visible. But his 'mother pox' scar is still there

But tbh, I don't really understand how vaccination affects the wider society with regards to shingles

My child had every vaccine they were offered but I didn't realise you could vaccinate against chickenpox.

She just avoided hospitalisation, was very sick and had literally hundreds of spots.

Nine years later, about 100 of those scars are still visible.

It's not always a mild childhood illness.

Never considered for first two dc. Both got it at same time aged 3 & 4 and were both really poorly. I think it triggered other ongoing problems, although that’s just my anecdotal opinion. Decided we would get dc 3 since when she was old enough, but she got it at 5 months old. And she was really poorly too!

I did because my sister nearly died from CP (she was not vulnerable). It CAN kill. She ended up in a wheelchair.

My child developed invasive strep a as a complication of chicken pox, it turned into sepsis and DC nearly died.

Yes, ij hindsight I wished I'd vaccinated.

I think the idea is that chicken pox circulating gives older people a tiny bit of exposure, which maintains their immunity.

We were totally fine, apart from a few days off and discomfort both annoying enough, but I’d get it done if I had more dc as it can have bad outcomes

Yep did it too - Superdrug, booked online. And have never regretted it.

Both my children are vaccinated. One didn't need to be but we took her to boots.

What you need to know is, there are two injections, 6 weeks apart. In that time your child can still catch Chicken pox as there won't be enough immunity.

Yes, do it. I was glad I had my kid vaxxed after we came into contact with some other infectious kids. I've heard of some kids having the spots in awful places, it can be really nasty.

There is a shingles vaccine. It is unethical to use children, allowing them to get ill, to prevent getting adults get ill with shingles. Children can actually die from chicken pox. It is the stupidest most selfish argument I have ever heard.

Got mine vaccinated. I spoke to the GP who said it was a good idea to get it done. The only reason it's not on the NHS schedule is cost.

Had all of mine vaccinated. My eldest because he had severe eczema and i didn't want him to get it during a bad eczema breakout. The other two because after I had looked into it, I realised it made sense.
One less thing to worry about. The cost was less than a weeks unpaid leave off work.

I did private vaccination, I don’t think potentially getting scarred is necessary when there’s an alternative, let alone some of the other more serious side effects.

Yes we had both our DC vaccinated against chicken pox

Had to pay privately as it's not on the immunisation schedule here in the UK

Worth it though

Other countries have it offered as part of the schedule, don't see why they don't here

Bizarrely I was talking to my child about this today. There seems to be a weird history of this in the family with grandfather never had it but dad got it as an adult. I said I would take him to Boots to get it done but he flipped out and said no. So not sure what to do.

Yes, there's quite a lot of researchers saying that the logic about shingles is bunk. Everywhere is seeing an uptick of shingles. The NHS once came out and admitted that it's heavily financial and they only see the cost of chicken pox as being parents needing to take off from school. The UK doesn't even vaccinate for CP if you've reached a certain age without getting it, which is the compromise some countries make. I have a friend who had chicken pox in her teens and it's a really horrible disease to get when you're older. You start getting more pox on mucous membranes like mouth, vulva, anus.

all 3 of mine had the vaccine in the US. I'll get the shingles vaccine in a few years when I'm eligible.