Can I ask about the chicken pox vaccine?

[QueenofmyPrinces]

How many of you have paid for your children to have it?

I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old, neither of whom have had chickenpox.

Both of them have been exposed to the virus during the incubation period (on two occasions) but they still didn’t catch it.

Someone told me that if a child hasn’t had it naturally by the age of 7 then it’s best to vaccinate them as CP can be quite serious from the age of 7 onwards.

I was just wondering what others peoples thoughts and decisions were?

All three of my kids have had it. Absolutely no side effects. My neighbour’s granddaughter died at six weeks of lesions on her brain from chicken pox. I have had shingles and I have a big, deep scar from it. To me, the vaccination was a no-brained.

Can I ask how much it costs?

Chickenpox is often a mild illness, but at times can cause significant complications and cause a lot of suffering for the child. I'll be vaccinating my baby when she turns one, and would do it earlier but I can't find anywhere locally offering the vaccination before 1.

I paid £60 a couple of years

Oops!

A couple of years ago.

My DD has had it. I am still covered in chicken pox scars from having it as a young child. I was really ill. I wouldn't wish it on her.

It's 75% effective and even if you are in THe 24 who get it, it is much much milder.

Yes my DC1 had it at around 18 months and will do the same for DC2. No brainer. We paid £80 or £90 per vaccine (two vaccines across about 8 weeks if I recall). No side effects.

Okey doke - looks like I’m going to try some persuasive tactics on my DH then to get him to agree

How do you find out where to get it? DS is 10 and has never had chickenpox, I think I'd like to get him vaccinated before he gets any older.

I think Boots Chemists do it.

I've just paid £140 for the two doses at Boots. The other option was £75 for each one so saved £10 and got loyalty card points too. My son is just over three and you'd not know he's had the vaccine, no ill effects or even mild reaction. Well worth it for my peace of mind.

We paid for it. Where I live abroad they only give one but we paid for another when back in the UK. No brainer for me!!

Boots, Superdrug and local private doctors who do holiday vaccinations tend to do it. Just type in chickenpox vaccine near me.

We got my daughter done just after she turned two. She gets really and croup which is set off by a cold. I honestly didn't want to have to make a decision between taking her to A and E when she had a bad croup attack and the risk it would be for other children/ babies and at risk groups in the A and E catching chicken pox. My daughter was also born abroad and would of had it as part of her normal vaccinations there. Plus I didn't want the worry of travelling to see family or going on holiday and we may have to cancel last second if she came down with chicken pox.

The NHS can do it for free but your child has to qualify. Breathing issues etc. But if you can afford to pay for it get it done. We done ours at boots. Got the second one 4 weeks later

I've not long had my 2 DC (5 and 2) vaccinated for chickenpox - second dose due in a few weeks. We went to Boots - £75 per jab or £140 if you pay for both at once as it's a course of 2 for full vaccination. It's not cheap but cheaper than unpaid leave to look after them if they caught chickenpox, plus the peace of mind that they're protected is worth it for me especially as DC1 has additional needs. We had no side effects, just had to hang around the store for a few minutes afterward.

It's a live vaccination though so the DC would need at avoid at risk groups - pregnant etc

We went to a private clinic and paid £75 per jab (2 in total) my son was fine and had no reaction at all.

I also went to Boots and paid £140 for two doses, booked online very easy to do. My 2 year old had no side effects from the first jab and going back for the second in a few weeks. The person in Boots said she was surprised how popular it had been but I feel that the cost is pretty reasonable compared to how nasty it can be for a child and also loss of wages if you have to take time off work to care for child. I haven't had Chickenpox so was also worried about catching it myself

My son got it free as part of an international trial. They were testing a new version. We found out a year later that he had in fact had the new vaccine. He had absolutely no side effects from the vaccine and we are pleased he's had it.

My 2 had it recently - age 4 and 1. Obviously the 4 year old screamed like a banshee the minute we stepped foot into Superdrug for the second dose 😄 absolute bedlam but worth it and over quickly. Superdrug was £60ish per dose, 2 each. I just couldn’t face potentially a month of CP if they got it back to back. It can be really nasty.

My nearly 2 year old had it I think around 13 or 14 months via my local GP surgery. They had to order in the two doses and I think it was about £100. The nurse was a little surprised as she said it's never been requested, probably more common to go to Boots like most people have mentioned.

I've never had chicken pox and it can be nasty. I don't think the NHS like to offer it as it's generally pretty mild on the whole and would cost a fortune to put it on their vaccine schedule I was told.

It's a live vaccine probably worth getting it soon in the summer months. We had to cancel and rearrange during the winter months due to little one having a temperature and the vaccine is less effective. No side effects what so ever.

We paid about £140 in total for the 2 jabs.
Went to a private clinic.
No side effects. Money well spent for peace of mind.
X

Does anyone know if it is effective against shingles?

@Duvetdweller - It’s possible, but REALLY unlikely! No vaccine is 100% guaranteed. If you are vaccinated against the chickenpox and you do end up catching it, (very, very unlikely) it will be a very mild case. You can only get shingles if you have had the chicken pox because it is the same virus that has been lying dormant in your body coming back to smack you while your immune system is vulnerable. In theory, if you are REALLY unlucky and you have been vaccinated and get a mild case of chicken pox, you could get shingles. (*But you would probably have an underlying condition like AIDS/HIV, be on chemotherapy or cytotoxic medications, etc. that leave you immunocompromised.) I hope I explained that clearly enough for you. (I haven’t had much sleep!!!)

Btw, my friend caught chicken pox from her 18 month old when she was 30. She was very ill. She had pox up her nose, down her throat and up inside her anus and vagina. I didn’t know that was even possible. She was in excruciating pain and was hospitalized. Adults do tend to get it worse than kids. If you haven’t had it, maybe get your immunity checked and consider getting vaccinated as well if you are not immune - especially if you are considering getting pregnant. In Australia we test women’s chickenpox immunity when they are pregnant as well, exposure to chickenpox in utero is linked to birth defects.

I had my 2.5 year old vaccinated at boots in Feb, £140 for both doses. Was much easier for me to see him in pain for 5 mins than a week of horrible illness, plus it was going to cost me more that £140 to have him miss nursery and me take time off work. I always said I would do it if he hasn't had it by school but then plumped to have it when he was at nursery instead for the fear of the pox ha

MIne were vaccinated and I was very glad they were, as it took down most of their school just recently, and several kids wer very poorly.