Chicken Pox Vaccine....Yes / No??

[needmysleep]

My DD is 4 years old and has still not had chicken pox. I had CP aged 27 and it was awful...worst ill experience of my life. Anyway I am considering getting her vaccinated privately as I really don't want her to suffer for 2 weeks when she eventually does get it and also she has had lung surgery when she was 3 months old which means she is more susceptible to pneumonia.

Has anyone had this vaccination? IS it safe? Any help would be great!

My DC3 had it when he was about 18 mths.
His sister had cancer and was immunocomprimised. We had him done because he was the most likely route to her getting CP.

He didnt have any ill affects. He DID get CP this year (he is now 7) but it was very mild. He only had a few spots and wasnt ill at all.

I dont think I would have bothered if it wasnt for his sister's illness. 4 of my 5 have had CP and none of them have been very ill. But I do know children who have been dreadfully sick.

For a normal healthy child, I had decided that I would get them vaccinated before they started secondary school if they hadn't already had it, to avoid going down with it in their teens/adulthood.

As it happens DS (5) and DD (2) both had it over Easter so they should be done and dusted (and they had not particularly bad cases).

The lung surgery / susceptibility to pneumonia adds another dimension, though.

The vaccination is routine in the US, but not without controversy.