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?

I didn't have any problem with chicken pox when I had it as a six year old, but getting shingles and post herpetic neuralgia 45 years later because of it was no fun.

In fact, I ended up happily spending $100s of dollars having the then new vaccine Shringrix which wasn't covered at the time by Medicare in Australia, but was 97% effective as opposed to something like 50-70% for the older vaccine.

Yes it baffles me too - to get 'real' immunity your first need to catch the thing you are so keen to have the 'superior' immunity to. Wouldn't a slightly less better immunity without needing to contract the actual disease first be better?
Anyway with chicken pox I think many people who are anti the vaccination aren't aware of the shingles issue or you'd imagine they'd change their view.

I vaccinated my kids. My daughter has eczema and it's already hard enough for her. And then it was obvious to vaccinate my son.

I had chicken pox as a child and then shingles at 39 and chicken pox again at 40 - wouldn't wish that on anyone. I would suggest to my kids they get a booster when they're older to be super sure to avoid it, as I think my daughter at least got hers before they were technically life long vaccines. I'm actually thinking about paying to have the shingles vaccine early as I could easily catch it again and it was truly miserable and I missed a lot of work - was off a month with shingles and 6 weeks with chicken pox.