Chickenpox vaccine

[Bytheseainsummer]

I enquired about this about a year ago for my toddler but was discouraged by the pharmacist at Boots - she gave me the impression it was best to catch in the wild as it were.

I am now wondering about it again, does anyone have any further info or advice? I think I’d like to get it for him but also don’t want to potentially cause problems for him further down the line. He’s two and a half.

I'm pretty sure it's going to be added into the MMR imminently. It would explain the huge amount of shingles warning for anyone who has had chicken pox adverts on the TV and radio I've seen. I knew it was planned to be done shortly before COVID so it would make sense. Might be worth trying to find out if they haven't had MMR yet.

Same experience here with my DDs. DD1 has dodged numerous nursery outbreaks and also didn't catch it off her little sister (who was only 6mo and thankfully got a very mild dose of it).

It's one of those things that I think if you can afford it, do it. I'd feel sad if either DD was left with scarring on their face or wherever from something I could have prevented.

Just been through/going through chicken pox here . Oldest is 5 only got a handful . 3 year old got a bad case of them but was manageable but our 12 month old is covered head to toe she has no skin spared . She was put on antivirals for them on day 4 when they kept coming. It’s been a really though couple of weeks .
We were getting all 3 vaccinated after the baby finished her injections I’m just sorry we didn’t get the oldest two vaccinated early it might of saved the baby going through what she has .
If we ever have another baby they will definitely be vaccinated if they don’t get it beforehand .

We can’t know yet if you get lifelong immunity because it’s not been around that long. You’ll have to wait about 30-40 years to get that information.

loads of countries have vaccinated for 20+ years, there just aren’t countries where populations are now catching chicken pox in huge swathes in their 20s due to the vaccine wearing off after 20 years.

I’ve never met a parent who vaccinated one child and not the other, who was grateful they’d let one child catch it naturally. Most in this situation regret the one who wasn’t vaccinated, including a few on this thread.

Sorry @Bytheseainsummer yes the second part of the initial jab is given a few weeks later.

I think effects last twenty years, then another course is required I think

DD caught it very mildly when I was still making my mind up. I didn't think we'd be so lucky with DS and when he came along it was a really hard period of life so it made sense to take that possibility away.

I can whole heartedly recommend it to anyone with DC who are or may be autistic or have sensory difficulties, I'm in a few support groups and when those kids get it it can be hell.

DD (16 months) had her second chickenpox vaccine on Friday at Superdrug. To me it was a no-brainer for the following reasons:

1. I absolutely don’t want to have to take 1-2 weeks off work with a sick child if I can help it.
2. I had chickenpox aged 11 and had to go to A&E as it went into my eyeballs. The pain was excruciating and I remember the misery of being so, so ill.
3. I know someone whose middle child ended up in hospital for three days as she got chickenpox very badly and it risked turning into encephalitis.

For me it was £140 well spent.

So the Dept of Health must believe that vaccine hesitancy in the UK is higher than other countries where this is part of the normal vaccine programme.
i hope this stance can be changed as it’s a nasty childhood illness too; if the vaccine can prevent shingles that would be a benefit. It would be interesting to see research in this area.

Andrew Wakefield casts a very long shadow.

I had my DD vaccinated and the only thing they said in terms of catching it naturally vs vaccine was that she might need a booster at 18 if she hadnt come into contact with contagious kids before afulthood (which she has done now with no illness)

In a country where it's a routine vaccine I'd give it becauxe (if I understood correctly) there isn't much live shedding to catch it from if my DC didn't get a booster

But as it's not routine in the UK and it is generally a mild illness I was worried DD would lose immunity and have chicken pox as an adult and possibly whilst pregnant which is very dangerous. And while I sat on the fence she caught it. Mildly thankfully.

I'm not confident of the science so v happy to be called out (gently!)

Also, afaik the UK doesn't to protect the elderly because the live shedding boosts the immunity of older People. Interesting ethical dilemma!

I live in a country where everyone vaccinates. It does not stop the virus circulating, but it does mean that kids tend to get an incredibly mild mini-version. My DDs got this. They got maybe 6-7 very small spots (but definitely CP - I had them checked at the clinic to be sure, as my youngest was a baby and not yet vaccinated, and I needed proof that the eldest was infected with CP in order to expedite the baby’s vaccination. Where I live, they will vaccinate a baby under 1 if an older sibling is confirmed to have the disease, on the grounds that getting the vaccine at slightly too young an age is less risky than full-blown chickenpox).

The two kids had no symptoms other than the tiny spots and the fact that their temperatures went up about half a degree for one day. Great appetite, just sat indoors for a day or two and did coloring and TV etc. We stayed in for a couple of days anyway, to be sure we did not pass it on to a pregnant woman etc., but it was an absolute non-issue.

I’m really happy we vaccinated. A friend of mine forgot to get her son vaccinated and he caught it, the full-blown version, at about 8 (because as I mentioned, the virus does still circulate here). He ended up with a bunch of unfortunately placed scars on his face and she still feels really guilty about it. The people I know in the UK who have let their kids get CP have had various expreriences, but some of the cases sound grisly and I’d be furious about having to take that much time off work.

The shingles vaccine will almost certainly become the norm for everyone going forward anyway, because there is emerging evidence it may reduce the risk of dementia in women, and possibly some other beneficial effects. And the country I live in does not have any more shingles than the UK in any case.

I had chicken pox at 14 and it left me very scarred on my face. I'd definitely reccomend getting the vaccine.

Also, afaik the UK doesn't to protect the elderly because the live shedding boosts the immunity of older People. Interesting ethical dilemma!

Since there is a highly effective shingles vaccine (Shingrix) now available for those over 50, it doesn't seem necessary to expose children to a potentially miserable disease to "protect" the elderly.

And I say that as one of the "elderly" at age 62😂