Chicken pox vaccine- would you?

[Bouncearound]

We have three dc and the older two have had chicken pox. Dd is 3 and hasn't yet had it so we are considering the vaccination against it.
They are all having the meningitis b vaccine in a few weeks and the same clinic can do the CP one but I'm not sure whether or not to go ahead- any feedback would be much appreciated!
Does anyone know if it's ok to have the men b and CP vaccines at the same time?TIA

I am getting my DD vaccinated and she has just had her MenB and MMR etc (one year old jabs) and I was told to wait a month before giving her the chickenpox one - but I think that is because of the MMR one.

Thanks. I think we've decided to give it but the clinic for the menb is quite a drive so if they can't be done at the same time we will probably find somewhere closer to home for the CP. I'll contact them tomorrow to ask but thought I'd ask on here today!

I wouldn't. My GP friends haven't vaccinated any of their children against CP either. It's your choice of course but it bothers me that their immunity could wane when they're older and leave them at risk of contracting it as an adult when they are more likely to have complications.

I did, got my 5 year old vaccinated earlier this year.

And I'll get her a booster when she's a teenager in case her immunity does wane. I'd rather she not go through an illness that I can prevent.

I'm too mean with my money to bother (I wouldn't get MenB privately either).

But It's such a total hassle having to quarantine them when CP happens without warning. So if you don't mind paying the money, getting CP jab sounds very nice.

We don't typically vaccinate in this country but lots of European countries and USA do as part of the standard childhood jabs. The belief is that you are more prone to shingles as an adult if you have the vaccination and in the UK HCP would rather you have chickenpox and reduce shingles outbreaks in adults whereas other countries would rather reduce chickenpox in children. I don't think either view is wrong. The vaccination hasn't been around long enough to know how long it lasts but things like rubella are for 20 years but I am still covered now, which is 30 years later and the likelihood is chickenpox will be similar.

You need two vaccinations for chickenpox and in total it is around the same cost as one and a half days in nursery. Whereas you could end up paying a fortnight or more in unused nursery fees and be off work on unpaid leave to look after a poorly child. In addition the child might well be badly affected and the odds of getting shingles as a vaccinated adult are still very very low - whereas the odds of getting chickenpox as an unvaccinated child are very high.

Thanks all. I really dont want her to catch CP as I know a few children who have had serious side effects from it. It is also for practical (selfish) reasons as neither dh nor I can easily take time off and both dc1 and 2 missed much-looked-forward to trips and events due to CP.
I hadn't thought about her catching it as an adult so I will look into a booster when she is older.

I had the varicella vaccine this year as realised I never had it as a child. My daughter had hers at the same time and she had the Men B at the same appointment too. We both did feel out of sorts with the Varicella, no temperature but just generally a bit achy and irritable.

If you are letting your child have the cp vaccine. It is worth letting the school/ nursery know beforehand as children who have recently had the vaccine can be a risk to children with reduced immunity.

My toddler had it at the same time as Men B earlier this year. I know it's often mild but my thinking was that if I can prevent suffering/scarring for a relatively small amount of money she would thank me for it.

My daughters had it. It is recommended you have 2 shots at least 1 month apart. There is no third "booster" recommended currently. Just the 2 shots. It has been proven to reduce shingles in the vaccinated population (so if you are vaccinated you are less likely to develop shingles later in life) and there is no evidence to support the hypothesis that adults having less contact with the wild virus (eg when your children get chicken pox) will increase the populations chance of developing shingles. No doubt an anti vac website will tell you different.

Re immunity wanning - we are all different and vaccinations work differently for different people. MMR might not be life long but until it's been around a lifetime, no one will know. But they most likely will.

In my opinion, chicken pox can be more serious than we expect and the NHS do not offer it due to cost. My doctor confirmed that it's down to cost also.

Good luck.

I came on here to ask just this. Im considering it for my oldest, and then the youngest, once they turn one. I had chicken pox very badly when I was younger, so if I can prevent that, I'd like to. Also, although it's generally a mild illness, what if one of my children is the one in however many who gets complications? And, as somebody else mentioned above, it will be difficult to cover the childcare if three children get it one straight after the other. My employer is sympathetic to such things, but would probably draw the line at six weeks away from work, and DH is away with work a lot, so there's pretty much no chance of him getting time off.

I've spoken to the clinic now and they are going to do it at the same time as the men b. Now to wait four weeks to see if she catches it before then