To think it's bonkers to not vaccinate against chicken pox

[Springadorable]

Especially if you have multiple kids who haven't had it who would probably get it back to back meaning potentially 2-3 weeks off work for parents while waiting for them to scab over.

Genuinely curious as to why people don't vaccinate. It is more expensive to have the time off work than to vaccinate and it's a nasty uncomfortable avoidable illness for kids and a standard vaccine for a lot of the rest of the world. So if you haven't, why not?

Mine had it because they were born in Australia where everyone has it as part of the routine infant vaccinations.

I've since heard that there is some question over whether the immunity from the vaccine lasts as long as immunity from the virus itself, and that's why it may be better to catch the pox. I haven't looked into it properly because we'd already vaccinated at that point.

Probably not the answer you are looking for, but I didn't know there was a vaccine available until after my children had already had it.

I agree and had our son vaccinated. Chickenpox can be very serious and even life-threatening. Every other country vaccinates for it!

I actually wonder if this is a major reason. It's doing the rounds at school at the moment and everyone is panicking about whether it's going to ruin half term holidays etc and I'm wondering if they just don't realise there is a vaccine.

Some parents won't know that you can pay for private immunisations.

Others might be unaware that there is a vaccine against chicken pox at all

Others may know, but not want to second guess the experts who decided not to include chicken pox with other routine immunisations

Others may not be able to afford it, especially if they have multiple kids

Others may have reasearched and found out that there is evidence that the vaccination offers poorer levels of lifelong immunity than contracting the disease. Then weigh up this against the small risks of serious ill health caused by the disease in children versus adults

Because it’s not provided as part of the set of childhood vaccinations.

We had dd vaccinated, I did wonder if she'd get it anyway when it swept through her class, but it proved effective. It is fairly costly though, especially if you've more than one child.

This was me too & I was gutted I didn't know about it until my son got chickenpox.

Would happily have paid privately to avoid the pain & scarring.

3 kids here. I don’t want to pay for it. There’s a good chance they’ll get it in one week and be back to school/work soon.

I also WFH so could work whilst they’re off.

Its rare to have serious complications from chickenpox

I was so unwell with chicken pox when I was a kid that I got my two vaccinated.

Autism is more accurately diagnosed here in Ireland, as opposed to the past where people with differences were brushed under the carpet.

Fixed that for you.

Yes, although rare it can be very serious, my Auntie is blind in one eye after having it badly, so it is worth considering the vaccination if you can afford to.

Plenty of people know about the vaccine but are too tight to pay for it. I’m not talking about people who genuinely couldn’t afford it. In my NCT group most mums had that stance.

I think the NHS not including it is a financial decision too. We got the vaccine done as soon as we could.

Nothing to do with vaccinations, that's because knowledge of autism has increased and thus it is more readily recognised and diagnosed now.

This. Presumably there's a reason why it's not been included in the childhood vaccination schedule?

I do know a child who was very poorly with CP but they are the exception rather than the norm. For my children and every other child I know it was a few days of mild illness then they were fine after. And now they are protected for life, but I believe with the vaccination they have to be re-vaccinated every 10 years for the rest of their lives (apologies if I have it wrong).

Yes, the reason is money.

I didn't know there was a vaccine available. My GP is always proactive about vaccinations and vitamins so I trust him to tell me when something is worth vaccinating against. Mine did get vaccinated against the flu this year.

I meant to add also that the vaccine is for life.

Not everyone can afford it. And if your kids haven’t had it you probably don’t realise how looong it can take to get through everyone and the ways it’s different to a regular illness where they can head back to school after a few days, and therefore why it’s worth it to avoid all that illness for the kids, time you’re housebound and general inconvenience. It took 5 weeks to get through my older two kids so I after I had a third I got it for him as soon as he was old enough!

I agree. But I still don't have the money. The season we're in means every penny is account for. It is what it is.

My DC are vaccinated. I also don’t understand why other people don’t. I did loads of research before going ahead and couldn’t find any reason not to.

The effects,of the vaccine don’t last as long as immunity from the disease which means kids that have been vaccinated are susceptible in their teens when the effects of CP are a much greater risk than in early years.

I lived and worked in the US when DC1 was little and made a conscious decision not to vaccinate.

My son has disabilities and additional support needs. His neurologist advised me not to get him vaccinated against chicken pox. He said it was very likely it would wear off and he would catch as an adult which would potentially be much more serious than catching as a child.

My two were vaccinated. But that was nearly 30 years ago in the US. Interestingly it was I think a requirement for entering the state's school system. I wonder if that will change now with RFK at the health helm over there?