Chickenpox vaccine - yes or no?

[sayitwithme]

Interested in experiences, thoughts or opinions, strong or indifferent, on the concept of vaccinating our kids against chickenpox. I believe it's part of the routine vaccination program in the States. Should it be offered here in the UK? It currently costs around £100 to have the vaccine in the UK - would you pay/have you paid? If not, why not?

Call it a straw poll if you will.

Quarantine is such an enormous hassle that I would consider paying, definitely. 100 quid is a lot, though. I am baulking at that price.

I guess I'd pay 10 quid without a thought, and have to think hard if it cost 30 quid or more.

2 of my DC had CP quite mildly, btw. The illness itself doesn't worry me at all. Just the terrific stress of trying to keep quarantine that makes me twitch unhappy, I never want to do that again.

silverfrog - I found this:

We don't know yet. It is estimated to last at least six
years. (Lancet, April 16, 1994) "Children immunized as long as six
years earlier continued to be well protected. . . . So far, the US
data show persistence of antibodies for three to four years after
immunization; data from Japan show persistence of antibodies for seven
to 10 years in healthy children."

thanks

I ask because I have recently gone through an interesting situation with my step children as they head off to uni.

I advised my dss that he shoudl check his mmr status, as the mumps part in particular has been shown to wear off (hence a lot of the uni mumps outbreaks)

he, of course, convinced of the invincibility of youth, has not done so.

it is entirely up to him, he is an adult.

but it got me thinking about what I owuld have done/felt if he were my son. of course, I could have done nothing, in practical terms. and the worry is the same, as I care about him deeply.

but the fact remains that he is probably no longer immune to mumps, at a time when he really needs to be. and the whole thing got me wondering - I was as guilty as the next person when a teen of ignoring sensible advice form my parents becuas ehtey were just boring old worry-warts. and I owuld probably done exactly as he did - listened, and then carried on as normal, because it owuld never happen to me, right?

and I htink children/teens are in a funny cross-over place re: vaccines and diseases. they have the older generations mostly having lived thorught he typical childhood illnesses, yet vaccines being introduced for them now. and I think it must be hard for them to know what ot do about it all.

It just seems a bit pointless really- vaccinate against a disease that is more than likely going to be a mild inconvenience, not know if they got immunity from the vaccine (unless you pay to have it tested), not know exactly how long it lasts ( in case you have lost immunity and you are pregnant) and resign yourself to a lifetime of boosters every few years.

thanks, bubbley.

I suppose no info as yet on maximum dosage recommneded over a lifetime?

There doesn't seem to be yet because it's so new. That would be worrying too. What if you can only have so many doses and then you're left completely unprotected in adulthood when the risks are much greater? No one knows yet - it's a bit of a gamble.

that tends to be my initial thought re: any vaccine started in childhood (as opposed ot ones needed for travel, which do not necessarily need the regular top ups, and which therefore are less likely to reach maximum dosage)

I checked the German Robert Koch Institut's website.

First vaccination 11 - 14 mths

Second vaccination 15 - 23 mths

Check at between 9yo and 17yo.

thanks, Mme.

Bubbleymummy, no I'm not saying that there is a guarantee with the vaccine either. That's my point - neither vaccine nor contracting the disease naturally seem to offer a guarantee. To me, it seems that it comes down to a toss up between putting yet another vaccination in the child's body vs. the risk of varying degrees of inconvenience/discomfort/pain (or in rare cases serious illness) of living through it.

That's why I'm interested in the responses to this post.

Well the immunity from actually catching the disease is more reliable than the vaccine and longer lasting!

Bubbley
I read something this morning that said the opposite, that the second vaccination gave a very high protection against CP. But I am damned if I can find the website again.

I did find this:

Im Zeitraum vor der allgemeinen Impfempfehlung erkrankten in Deutschland schätzungsweise 750.000 Personen pro Jahr an Windpocken, darunter ca. 310.000 (41,5 %) im Alter von 0-5 Jahren und ca. 320.000 (42,4 %) im Alter von 6-12 Jahren. Ausgehend von internationalen Studien wurde für Deutschland die jährliche Sterberate durch Windpocken auf 25-40 Todesfälle geschätzt (STIKO 2004).

Which basically says that approx 750 000 Germans catch CP in a year, 41% under 5yo. The yearly death toll is estimated to be 25 - 40 people, which would explain why my paediatrician had seen so many cases. I can only assume the discrepancy is due to the fact that the disease was not notifiable.

Thanks for the translation mmelindt! :)

Why does Germany have a higher CP mortality rate than the US and the UK? That's a bit strange!

The figures I quoted earlier were for 2003/2004 so maybe they've increased over the years? When was the vaccine brought in?

Yes. My DD and my DSSs have all been vaccinated against chickenpox.

I can only guess that since Germany has started collating data that they have a better idea of the scale of the disease. It was always a notifiable disease in the former East, according to the Websitr that I took these facts from.

My paediatrician said that some deaths were as a result of CP, but did not happen until much later so were often not attributed to the disease.

The Robert Koch institute is now collating data so we should have a better picture in a few years.

As a general principle, I have always tried very hard to prevent my DD from getting ill. Vaccinating her against chickenpox is part of that. Keeping her at home when she was little, not taking public transport when she was a tiny baby, not using childcare etc were all contributing factors.

She is now 6 and has only ever needed antibiotics once in her life and is very strong/in excellent health.

leoniedelt Thanks for the reference, I will check that out. FYI, I started this post to open up a discussion, not to help me make a decision. I have already read up a lot on this issue as I was horrified when I learned I was not immune and pregant with DD and was interested to hear other people's thoughts and experiences.

Thank you everyone who have so far responded. It's been very insightful.

Just remember sayitwithme Richard Holveson is an ordinery GP who is making a nice living from his Harley Street clinic dishing out single vaccines with business drummed up by his book.

What about other GPs who make money from vaccinating bruffin? Or the pharmaceutical industry who make the vaccines? I don't really think you can make judgements about whether or not people are trustworthy based on whether or not they make money....

chicken pox used to be a mild disease. ds1 sailed through it when he was a toddler. it's going round my way at the moment and all the kids seem to be really suffering with it, it has somehow become a much more stronger illness in the last few years... funny how that's coincided with the vaccine becoming more prevalent in this country, innit?

leonie completely agree. and feel the same about mumps as well as rubella but sadly think there is little chance of getting 'wild' strains of them so then you're faced with making a decision about vaccinating teenagers.