To not even bother packing - Chickenpox?

[Eyeofthelamp]

My son was sent home from school on Thursday with the dreaded pox. He’s absolutely fine, but we’re due to
go on holiday in just over a week. I know I can get a fit to fly note before we go, BUT my little girl hasn’t had pox yet. She currently shows no sign of getting them but she will, won’t she? I know I can’t cancel our holiday due to exposure, but I also don’t want to go with the impending risk of her getting them abroad and then being stuck in another country for a week on my own, whilst my husband and son have to
go home.

If we cancel we stand to lose £4.5k, but I just can’t bring myself to even start packing. AIBU? What would you do in these circumstances? I’m feeling pretty crap as this is our only chance to get away this year due to other commitments, so it would be another full year without a holiday if we can’t go 😔

I forgot to say- I’d also be looking at any money you can get back now and whether that would cover an alternative plan.

We had a holiday booked to a Caribbean country when Zika virus was prevalent. I wasn’t pregnant, but we were planning to try for our second and there was evidence that my husband could have passed it on to me / baby up to six months after having had it himself. I wasn’t willing to spend a holiday worrying about it.

We could get all of the accommodation money back. We sacrificed the cost of the flights and went somewhere closer with the recovered money.

That’s an advantage of non-package holidays though, and I think we’re atypical in how we arrange our holidays.

Where do you live OP? After noticing people claiming “shortages” of the vaccine I’ve just had a nosey at various Boots pharmacies around the country and every single one I tried had multiple appointments available for tomorrow.

For what it’s worth, I didn’t catch chicken pox after an eighties pox party and neither did my friend. My eldest son didn’t catch them from his younger brother either.

Very expensive? They’re paying £4.5k for a holiday, I think they can afford £150 for a vaccine

That “doctor” wants striking off

The problem wasn’t getting an appointment, it was that they’d call us before and say they couldn’t do it!

Anyway, it was a while ago we were looking, rather unfair to imply I’m making it up (and to what end? The vaccine is no good to OP now anyway)

My DC were exposed at the same time all the cousins were, big family gathering. My DC were the only 2 who didn't get the pox! I was on edge examing every spot but absolutely nothing. Bizarre. Your 2yo might not get it x

My son waited till he was 5 to get chicken pox despite being in nursery rooms with children who had it. My daughter waited three weeks to get it and had to be sent home with it from nursery 🤔

Yeah all 3 of mine had it years apart. 2 of them shared at bedroom as well

I never really ‘had’ it when my brother had chickenpox - nothing my mum could see anyway - years later when I was pregnant my midwife was concerned when I told her I hadn’t had chickenpox ( it’s bad to get it when you are pregnant I think) so we did a blood test and it showed that I must have had it - maybe one or 2 spots but wasn’t poorly at all - your daughter might be like that - imperceptible pox!

It is if her daughter hasn’t been exposed, she might not get it from her brother.

Sounds like a localised issue for you then and probably completely irrelevant to the OP

@CountryQueen - he’s one of the top children’s doctors in the country. Luckily hes within 30min drive as he’s the leading allergy specialist also. So going against him would mean we couldn’t use for allergy stuff either. It’s not just him, I looked at reports in the city from vaccine specialist and they still don’t recommend here at all unless child is immune compromised etc. as like I say they said the chances that that child will be vaccinated every 10 years the rest of life is slim, and a 50 year old with chickenpox is worse than a 5 year old.
So you would have to strike off every doctor in country as none of them will
give it willingly

It’s exactly the same in uk ‘In the United kingdom Varilrix, a live viral vaccine[14] is approved from the age of 12 months, but only recommended for certain at risk groups.’. So it isn’t recommended still if your not in an at risk category

The NHS website says that booster doses of the chickenpox vaccine are not needed
https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/chickenpox-vaccine/

Went on a guide camp fri to sun aged 10: came out in chicken pox on the Sunday. Despite sharing a tent with six others no one else got it. Also shared a room with my sibling throughout and she didn’t get it either. So it’s not a definite that your second child will get it OP. Good luck

@Thatsrhesummeroverthen
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/varicella/hcp/about-vaccine.html

It’s estimated to last 10-20 years. They aren’t 100%. Same as most vaccines. Almost all vaccines only last that time.
So a 5 year old will likely run out between the age of 15-25 latest.

Ie I had MMR as a child. By mid 20s blood test showed the R part I no longer had immunity for so I had to have another R vaccine.

If you vaccinate a child, the chances of them still immune in middle age is slim. They are then higher risk of shingles as adult

It would be better for you to go to an actual medical doctor or pharmacist if you're looking for medical advice, and in future take care to only visit those with a license to practice medicine. A real doctor would be aware that the NHS didn't include it because they worried about uptake and too many people benefitting from herd immunity and therefore not catching chickenpox until adulthood. There are no efficacy concerns for those getting the vaccine despite multiple decades since it was first cleared for use. Actually it doesn't only protect against chickenpox, but also seems to prevent the immunised child from getting shingles in later life.

That is now changing. The JCVI have recommended it become part of the standard childhood immunisation schedule.

It's never been the case that the vaccine only lasted 10 or 20 years, but they could only ever say it was known to last that long as that's how long it had been in use.

It's now widely recognised from new studies that the effectiveness doesn't wear off leaving adults at risk, and there has been no notable increase in shingles cases (which was the bigger fear) in adults who have been vaccinated.

Not correct. There is evidence that if given post exposure it can prevent a child becoming symptomatic. However this evidence is easily Googleable so I am assuming OP has decided against this route since it is now a Sunday and most pharmacies are closed and they have had since Thursday to act.

https://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/hcp/vaccine-considerations/index.html

https://healthclinics.superdrug.com/services/chickenpox-vaccination/

@GRex - it is proper doctor. He’s a paediatrician. Which is who everyone uses for children 0-18 where I live. He’s attached to the local hospital. Exactly same as a NHS equivalent.
its not a quack doctor

You can get the vaccine within 5 days of exposure and it dramatically reduces both the chance of getting it and the severity.

But I would definitely say that if you’re buying £4.5k holidays, just spend the £200 to get the vaccine to avoid your kids having a shitty disease that can cause lifelong facial scarring and even worse. CP is guaranteed to come along at the worst possible times. Both of mine are vaccinated and have avoided multiple outbreaks at school and nursery.

As others have said, it may well be worth springing for the vaccine. My middle child caught chicken pox after being vaccinated - the spots cleared up in 24 hours!!

It's not estimated to last 10-20 years. It's estimated to last at least that - which is actually a very important difference.

They cannot say for sure yet "it lasts 50 years" as it has not been in use for that length of time.

The new studies into adults who have had the vaccine now show that there is no increased risk of shingles, and that the vaccine is still effective in giving immunity to CP.

Ah, this is a common error made by those who don't understand research studies. The studies were carried out 10-20 years since the vaccine was licensed for use, so they give that as the timeline. There is no evidence of immunity wearing off, and if there was then people would be going for extra vaccines.

He hasn't studied the most up to date studies on those who've had the vaccine the longest. They are why the UK advice from the JCVI to the government have changed.

Thank you. I'm not clear on the shingles risk though, as anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk of getting shingles. In fact surely if you were vaccinated and it wore off you would have to contract chickenpox first, and then shingles later.
(I have one dc who had chickenpox, and one who was vaccinated)