Anyone chosen to pay for MMR vaccine instead of having the new MMRv?

[lovesT]

no anti vaccines talk please! I'm doing my research.

Took my son for his 3 year 4 month jabs yesterday. For some reason hadn't fully clicked that they had added the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine to the MMR.

My daughter had the MMR but not varicella as it wasn't rolled out when she was a toddler.

I felt a bit flustered and nurse said I could go away and think about it if I felt I needed to. He had the 4 in 1 but not the MMRv.

If I could choose just the MMR I'd be happy. I know there are possible side effects of both but was planning not to have the chicken pox vaccine when it wasn't on NHS. Has anyone decided to pay for it privately and just get the MMR?

Am I over reacting? I just wasn't prepared for something different to what my daughter had and I feel like they emphasised the encephalitis rare side effect but I'm not actually sure the risk is any higher than MMR.

Ant thoughts? Anyone done similar?

*I'm not saying he won't have MMR (I would plan to go back to GP and get what they offer after research or pay privately if possible for just MMR.)

Thanks!

Given it's on the schedule now, how are they just going to get chickenpox. I'm in a country that's been vaccinating for chicken pox for ages and I don't know anyone that's actually had chicken pox since.

Right, so you've never done a click and collect. They bring the shopping to your car, you don't abandon your child in it.

Edit to add - I'm not trying to make you feel bad but I really hope anyone else reading this thinks twice before taking their kid out multiple times with chickenpox. There are children with birth defects because their mothers caught it in pregnancy.

Because people who are anti vaccine are selfishly relying on those around them being vaccinated, and then use that to claim their child is healthy and well and they were right not to vaccinate.

Maybe because very few people have been vaccinated so far as its only just been added to the schedule and its only young children thats getting it. It will be a while until the vaccination starts preventing wild chickenpox.

No, iv never done a click and collect?! No supermarket locally to me offers it or anything like that (Tesco, Asda, aldi). You dont get all these options in Scotland if you live outside of cities. We dont have uber where i live either. Nothing like that. Even reflecting now, i genuinly dont see that i could have avoided going out with child and that will be the case for many in my boat.

Even reflecting now, i genuinly dont see that i could have avoided going out with child and that will be the case for many in my boat.

All the more reason why people should get the vaccine. It protects your child. It protects other people. And the risk of complication is lower than the risk of complications from chicken pox. A no-brainer.

Just seems like such a strange thing to plan to do - do 100% of kids in the UK currently get chickenpox? Surely the odds will start reducing as his peers start having the vaccine, even if the take up rate is relatively low? It blows my mind that anyone would be turning down a vaccine and instead plan on them getting the actual disease - and that's without the whole shingles factor.

@CypressGrove I suppose most children do get chickenpox in the UK at the moment. It will take a while for the vaccine effect to work as so many older children wont have had it and they are the ones at school and mixing with other children. My dd had CP age 3 and gave it to her 6 month old brother. He then had shingles age 3ish which was misdiagnosed as eczema (probably as its rare to have childhood shingles)

The impact is faster than you think.

Chicken pox cases fell by around two thirds in five years after vaccination started - and that was with the less effective single dose programme.