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Original poster

Chickenpox vaccine

29 replies

MrsOs · 24/02/2016 09:18

Who has paid for their children to have the chicken pox jab?? I'm thinking about it. Recently a friends daughter had it and she had them on her eyes etc etc and it was awful so am thinking of getting him the jab

OP posts:
CatsCantFlyFast · 24/02/2016 09:22

We did for DD (who was 18 months at the time). We had the funds available and I don't want her to go through the discomfort and potentially more serious complications of chickenpox if it could be avoided. Got it done at same time as meningitis b

Original poster
MrsOs · 24/02/2016 09:42

That's what I'm thinking of doing too.. But they say the effects might not last into adult hood

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsOs · 24/02/2016 09:42

Was it one jab??

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsOs · 24/02/2016 09:44

Have you also considered the meningitis acwy vaccine??

OP posts:
Millionprammiles · 24/02/2016 11:10

We had dd vaccinated for CP 2 years ago. No side effects and v glad we did it. It was two jabs and cost circa £100 I think.
All my nieces suffer with infected eczema when they had CP and didn't want dd going through the same.

SandunesAndRainclouds · 24/02/2016 11:41

You've reminded me I needed to re-book DD's pre-schools. I am going to ask about CP and men while I'm there.

gasbird · 24/02/2016 11:44

We did for our two boys. To avoid potential complications.
Worth bearing in mind if you have girls that they will need a booster in early adulthood to boost immunity prior to potential pregnancy
Obviously boys will also need an adult booster too.

2010sll · 24/02/2016 21:50

Recently got my DD vaccinated. Age 5. Got her 2nd dose in a few weeks. 2 doses is recommended. £130 per dose but seen it cheaper. Had it done at a private GP. i have done huge amounts of research so feel free to ask questions. There are clinical trials in Bristol, Southampton and London at the moment. www.chickenpoxstudy.org.uk

Re how long it lasts, no one knows. Been around 20 years in USA and approx 30 in Japan. Ongoing studies will reveal whether further doses will be required. As we live in a country where the "wild" disease still circulates, my DD should get boosters from exposure.

Natsku · 24/02/2016 21:55

Did the chickenpox and meningitis ACWY for DD this year (5), was told only one jab is sufficient for both jabs but will probably do a booster for both in the teen years.

Blueberry234 · 24/02/2016 21:57

Had eldest vaccinated and youngest in the current trial

superzero · 24/02/2016 22:03

Yes,vaccinated my 2 older boys aged about 1&2.No complications .They will need boosters in adulthood.
Youngest got chicken pox just before was old enough to be vaccinated and it wasn't actually too bad.

2010sll · 24/02/2016 23:07

Some countries have a 2 dose schedule, some only 1.
www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/chickenpox-varicella-vaccine
www.who.int/wer/2014/wer8925.pdf
www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/vaccination.html

CatsCantFlyFast · 25/02/2016 09:04

No side effects, 2 doses, think it was £75 per jab

bumbleymummy · 26/02/2016 07:59

No, we didn't. My two had cp - typical, straightforward cases with no complications. Aside from the itching, they weren't particularly unwell. We have a huge family - lots of cousins, nephews, nieces and I don't know a single one who has had complications. One child from a toddler class we went to got an infected spot after scratching but she was given antibiotic cream and it cleared up very quickly with no other problems. I think on MN, it seems that there are more complicated cases because people are less likely to talk about the normal, average ones. This can skew things a bit and make it look like the risk of complications is actually higher than it is.

I personally wouldn't give the CP vaccine to children (unless you were trying to protect an immunocompromised sibling/family member) but I do think it could be offered to teenagers/adults who aren't immune. My issue with giving it to children is that boosters may be required to maintain immunity (A booster dose was introduced into the US schedule in 2006 iirc). You do not know when your immunity has waned and you could be left vulnerable as an adult when you are more likely to suffer complications. Just my opinion FWIW.

bumbleymummy · 26/02/2016 08:01

Also, if you do need boosters in adulthood, the vaccine is less effective in adults.

SmallGreenBouncyBall · 26/02/2016 08:06

we did it.
only one jab (plenty of natural exposure in our part)

eurochick · 26/02/2016 08:49

We did it. My reasoning was: why not avoid a disease that is at best unpleasant and uncomfortable if you can?

I had it very mildly. I gave it to my mum who had a severe case and was quite unwell with it. One of the babies in my AN group had an awful case and was hospitalised. A nurse rubbed off her scabs so she is left with hundreds of scars. There can be quite a range of outcomes. The vaccine isn't that expensive and the side effects are mild so I thought we might as well.

2010sll · 26/02/2016 17:17

smallgreenboucyball eurochick superzero are you all in the UK?

bumblymummy I do agree with your view but made my decision after a lot of research and speaking with a doctor. But yes, wanning immunity is a concern but as other countries are far further ahead, so hopefully more data in the future. I would have felt very bad if she had been one of the unlucky ones and I could have prevented it. However, I certainly wouldn't blame someone for not vaccinating and their child was very ill with it - especially as it's not on our schedule in the uk.

SmallGreenBouncyBall · 26/02/2016 17:48

yes uk.

ditsygal · 26/02/2016 17:56

We had it done for our DS - he had 2 jabs.

He has however just had chickenpox now, a year after the jabs! So it isn't a complete protection, but his CP were really mild, he only had about 20 spots and wasn't ill in himself at all.

I still am glad we did it as it at least stopped him getting a worse dose, and I will do it for our next DC.

SauvignonPlonker · 26/02/2016 17:59

Yes, vaccinated both DC, as they were premature (DS had oxygen-dependant lung disease). Plus my Father is on long-term steroids & advised not to have contact with CP.

Plus I'd seen colleagues with 2 or 3 young DC struggling to manage absence from work, as their DC all caught the disease separately & required time from work on each occasion.

Considering my childcare costs were strong £1k a month at that time, it was also more cost-effective to vaccinate.

2010sll · 29/02/2016 07:13

Blueberry234 Assuming you're allowed to discuss it, I wondered if anything had been mentioned to you re the potential life long immunity etc when you signed up your youngest into the trial. It's the one thing in the back of my mind as we have no herd protection here as it's not a universal vaccination. That said, lots of natural boosting available for sure! Especially this time of year.

ditsygal That's good it was such a mild case.

user1468238615 · 11/07/2016 13:10

I took Wilfred to Childrens Immunisation and Medical Centre in Manchester on St John Street they were great and really helpful it is 2 doses 4 weeks appart and it is £110 per dose - 01625 890584

Paddingtonthebear · 11/07/2016 13:18

Yes we had DD vaccinated against chicken pox last summer when she was 2.5yrs. It was two injections a month apart. Our GP surgery ordered the vaccines in and we paid just the cost price which was £80 in total. It's a lot more expensive generally, I was quoted £150-£175 by private travel clinics but luckily I managed to persuade my GP surgery to do it.

No regrets, no side affects. It's a highly effective vaccine so hopefully she won't catch CP but if she does it will be very mild.

ErrolTheDragon · 11/07/2016 13:25

Our DD hadn't had CP by the time she was 14 so we got her vaccinated then - she was quite needle-phobic but she absolutely didn't want to risk a preventable illness during gcses/a levels.