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

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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?

Not sure if this has already been shared but the UK are indeed looking to introduce CP vaccine to the childhood immunisation schedule https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-varicella-vaccination-programme-jcvi-advice-14-november-2023/jcvi-statement-on-a-childhood-varicella-chickenpox-vaccination-programme

It was initially felt that the vaccine would be too costly and concerns around the impact to adults immune response to shingles acquired through exposure to chickenpox in the community but this theory has since been disproven. Apparently chickenpox is still costly to the NHS with many parents visiting GPs over chickenpox concerns and queries, asking for medicines to be prescribed that should be bought and of course more serious cases that require hospital care. Not to mention the cost of caring for adult shingle patients. If we eradicate chickenpox then one day shingles too will be gone.

All vaccines, along with all illnesses, have risk/benefit. You do your best, (by actually looking into it properly, not taking anyone or anythings word as infallible) and decide for you and your family. It may turn out the risk outweighs the benefit or vice versa. Simples.
Plus, is it not still possible to catch CP, suffer it as bad, have all the side effects etc whether u take vaccine or not?

I’m 38 (born 1986) and I got the vaccine when it first became widely available in the US in 1995. My guess is that it wasn’t a requirement unless your kids were really little. I was one of the only kids I knew who got the vaccine, because most people had had chicken pox already. I remember friends being amazed that I’d made it to nine without ever having chicken pox.

I didn’t realize it wasn’t a standard immunization in the UK. Over here in the US, my kids have the book Arthur’s Chicken Pox and I had to explain what chicken pox was, because they’ve never known anyone who’s had it.

Unless there’s a pressing medical reason not to have a chicken pox vaccine, I agree, OP.

Both of my children were privately vaccinated.
Wasn't even a consideration not to protect them from something that i could do very easily.

Well yes it's still possible but much less likely. Do you not wear a seat belt when in a car because it is still possible to die in a car accident when wearing a seat belt?

I agree with this now, the vaccine wasn’t something I’d heard of when mine were little.

My DS had it as a toddler before his sister was born. His sister never had it.

When she started training as a HCP she had to have some extra vaccinations such HepB and was asked about CP. Since she hadn’t had it the hospital/uni did a blood test to check for immunity, if there was none she would have been vaccinated, she was 18. It turned out she had immunity anyway despite never having any CP symptoms.

She did go to nursery from being a baby so I can only assume she got a very mild case that didn’t present any spots.

Yes, the MMRV vaccine will be phased into the standard childhood immunisation schedule soon.

Because I didn't know it was available as a private vaccine. DS got it age 3, I was still on mat leave with DD. She caught it from him, age 8 months. She was very ok unwell. It was just as well I was on mat leave. Both DC got bronchitis straight after cp. First spot to last cough was 6 weeks!

Yes, I find it bonkers, I live in Australia where it is part of the infant immunisation schedule so you hardly hear of anyone getting it.

The immunity doesn’t last which makes it problematic for girls - they could lose their immunity around pregnancy which would harm the child in a significant way

For the 500th time, we don't know how long the immunity lasts because its only been 30 years since they started giving the vaccine in the US, but we know from the US results that it last 30 years so far. There is no reason to believe, at this point, that immunity wanes more than any other vaccine. And the great thing about vaccines is, if they do wane, is that you can get boosters. Wild chickenpox, on the other hand, does not guarantee immunity, you can get it multiple times (a friend's child had it 3 times as a baby and toddler) and it gives you the delightful present of potential shingles one day (or several times).

Who made you the expert @Natsku ? Are you an actual expert on this or just on this mnet thread???

www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/varicella/hcp/about-vaccine.html#:~:text=form%20of%20varicella-,Duration%20of%20Protection,to%2020%20years%20after%20vaccination.

Did you read that? It says at least 10 to 20 years from studies done before it was widely used. That doesn't say it is limited to 10-20 years.
More recent studies have found no evidence of warning of effectiveness https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/226/Supplement_4/S425/6764809?login=false

"There is no evidence for waning of the effectiveness of 2 doses of the vaccine."

That link doesn't disagree with what the PP was saying, and elsewhere on the CDC website it notes that two doses give lifelong protection in most cases.

But let's go for primary sources. This study directly contradicts the PP's assertion that immunity doesn't last.

Snap, @Natsku, but I had my window open WAY longer!

The misinformation on this one is just crazy.

What a shame your decision is based around you needing to take time off if your child gets chicken pox. That really has no place in the decision. Sorry.

Knowing that 1995 was 30 years ago is expert level knowledge, apparently.

Or maybe, if you'd read what I'd actually written, you'd see I was saying that in addition to the huge health benefits it also makes sense financially?

The decision about whether it's affordable on an individual basis will be based on the relative up front versus subsequent costs. That's where the £140 comes in - is vaccination cheaper than the costs of time off work etc?

That's a separate assessment from the question of whether vaccination is desirable and beneficial - and hopefully a consideration that will become irrelevant given JCVI's recommendation.

Nice try, though a little bit too disingenuous to be convincing.

No way would I ever give it it when real immunity is better . All off mine had it without any issues .

Is real immunity better though @Crazyworldmum? The vaccine seems to protect better against developing shingles later on and that’s something definitely worth considering when deciding what to do. Also you don’t have the small risk of serious complications of chickenpox, or not as high a risk at least.

Whether the immunity the vaccine offers is as good or long-term as getting chicken pox naturally is another consideration of course, but it’s not the only one.

If "better" means "taking a significantly higher of getting a very nasty recurring disease later in life" then sure, the risk profile (small risk of very nasty complications) changes. But I'm not sure there is evidence than the vaccine- and wild-derived immunity is so vastly different after the two-dose regimen given at the right ages.

Chickenpox vaccine wasn't aroundvwhen mine were small, my eldest caught it 6 times.

This concept of "real" immunity being better has always baffled me. In order to get "real" immunity you first have to get sick, whereas with vaccine immunity you don't need to get sick. How is getting sick better than not getting sick?
And chickenpox is something you can catch more than once, plus can lead to shingles, which you can develop more than once too, so "real" immunity is definitely not better in this case in any way.