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Parenting

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Original poster

Chickenpox vaccine

33 replies

Whathefisgoingon · 30/05/2022 22:26

I’ve posted about this before but today my GP surgery asked me why I wanted to vaccinate my 2 year old, stating the chickenpox vaccine is not very effective and I shouldn’t be surprised if he does still get pox.

From what I’ve read, it’s given as routine in most other countries and we don’t because of £ and some theory that pox in children is protective to adult shingles.

Anyone vaccinated their kids privately?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Nikki305 · 30/05/2022 22:56

Yes my 2 year old just had her second chicken pox vaccination. I thought it was something like 95% effective, and if they do get it it should be much milder than usual.
After all the isolations and illnesses the past couple of years it seemed like a no brainer to me

thinkfast · 30/05/2022 23:02

Yes I privately vaccinated my two DC last year at my brilliant local pharmacist. My eldest is 10 and, although they've both been exposed a couple of times, They've never had chicken pox, and I felt they were getting a bit old to catch it.

Tree543 · 30/05/2022 23:06

I vaccinated my 10 yr old when he was 3. Never caught it even though was exposed to it a few times.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

2 year olds Behaviour & development Children's health General health

snowflake29 · 30/05/2022 23:16

I've been debating whether to get my 3 year old vaccinated. What I can't work out is how often they need to get it as an adult?

Most things I read state immunity is thought to be between 10 and 20 years. But then chickenpox in adulthood is often much worse so how would they know when they would need another vaccine?

Utini · 30/05/2022 23:18

Yes I vaccinated DD age one. She was in contact with it nearly two weeks ago as one of her best friends at school came in with it and was later sent home when a teacher saw the spots. Fingers crossed the vaccination worked!

From what I read, breakthrough cases are generally very mild, and exposure to wild type chickenpox is likely to act as a natural booster, and the low vaccination rates in this country means that they're likely to be exposed at some point. Also if we discover that protection wanes later in life I'm happy to pay for her to have a booster.

I think the main risk with the vaccine is if uptake isn't high enough. That could mean there isn't enough circulating to make sure that everyone unvaccinated actually catches it in childhood, which risks unvaccinated people catching it later in life when outbreaks do occur.

shuggaaaaaar · 30/05/2022 23:20

3 children all been through it.. each progressively worse and traumatic I'd advise anyone to go for it and take the chance! I wish I'd have known about it.

Original poster

Whathefisgoingon · 31/05/2022 08:40

@snowflake29 I’m the same! Seemingly it lasts “at least” 20 years, that’s just how long it had been when it was confirmed last. It could very well provide lifelong immunity. I’ve seen lots of folk who are not immune despite getting chickenpox as a kid.

The thing is, the rest of Europe and America all vaccinate for chickenpox as part of the routine childhood immunisations.

OP posts:

Original poster

Whathefisgoingon · 31/05/2022 10:52

In addition to that, our GP told us that if a male doesn’t catch chickenpox in childhood then they need the vaccinate as a teen because pox at that age or adulthood can cause infertility in men. However, the vaccine is not as effective (according to the NHS website) as a teen/adult as it is in childhood.

I have no idea what to do!

OP posts:

TulipsGarden · 31/05/2022 10:55

Yup, our child is vaccinated and had been through outbreaks at nursery with no pox. There was a long thread on this last week, might be worth a search.

Who at your GP surgery said it was ineffective? It's utter rubbish, so a bit concerning if it was your GP...

Partytoddle1777 · 31/05/2022 20:40

Mines had both vaccines privately, he had no side effects at all I’d go for it. Didn’t want to see him suffer with pox so glad I did it.

mynameiscalypso · 31/05/2022 20:43

My DS was offered the vaccine privately by our NHS GP 🤷🏻‍♀️

OldGreyAppleFence · 31/05/2022 20:48

Absolutely we vaccinated against chicken pox, it can be really nasty, why on earth wouldn't you. If you are not sure (your questions are important) then you could ring a clinic that offers the vaccine and ask someone there. GPs do not receive any particular training on this vaccination so their knowledge might not be completely up to date.

Original poster

Whathefisgoingon · 31/05/2022 21:39

@OldGreyAppleFence I don’t think anybody has the answers I need, really.

I am just worried that by vaccinating him at 2, immunity may well start to wane when it is most required, teenage years/adulthood.

OP posts:

Nikki305 · 01/06/2022 08:01

By then we will know how long the vaccines last and if a booster was required. So you would just give him a booster at a later date if necessary

Original poster

Whathefisgoingon · 01/06/2022 17:00

@Nikki305 sure, but they are not as effective when given in teenage years/adulthood. This is my dilemma.

OP posts:

modgepodge · 01/06/2022 17:19

A friend of mine’s daughter got a couple of spots a few weeks back when there was an outbreak at her nursery. The next day she was wondering if they were insect bites as they didn’t come to anything and daughter was fine. friend then worked out that having been born in a different country, child had been vaccinated at 18m and presumably that’s why it never came to anything. Meanwhile half the rest of the nursery were off for a week or so….

really must get mine vaccinated before she starts nursery!! I’d be happy to pay for a booster in 10/15 years if necessary too.

AegonT · 01/06/2022 19:41

I've had my older daughter vaccinated when she was 1. She didn't get chicken pox when the in-laws surprised us with a cousin with chicken pox in the house when we were staying or when most the kids in her pre-school had it. We'll be getting my younger daughter the vaccine.

LesterKnopf · 01/06/2022 20:22

We waited til DD was 8 she hadn't caught it naturally so the vaccine seemed the best way to protect her against getting it as a teen, which could be pretty nasty. By the time we would need to consider a booster, she will be an adult and able to decide for herself if she wants to take the risk of catching it.

fallfallfall · 01/06/2022 20:29

a cousin got chicken pox and encephalitis and has been developmentally delayed (brain damaged) since.
i made sure all three grand children got the vaccine.
i on the other hand have had chicken pox 3 times twice after the age of 12.
i asked a nurse who specializes in immunizations about the vaccine in later years, i was told that by that time in life (in my case after 50) a person has been in contact with so many viruses that immunity is most likely and immunizations not necessary (think ones like mumps measles diphtheria etc which are not routinely repeated later in life).

ehb102 · 01/06/2022 20:40

According to my research we don't vaccinate kids because the lack of continuous exposure to chicken pox to adults will result in shingles.

I did what was best for my child and vaccinated. My family gets chicken pox late and it is horrid as an adult.

fallfallfall · 01/06/2022 20:52

@ehb102 , there is a shingles vaccination recommended for all those over 70+.
of course you can pay privately and have it sooner.

disconnected1 · 01/06/2022 21:07

I wish I had organised a vaccine for my dd, she got pox aged 5 and there was not an area on her entire body that wasn't covered. Even HCP said they'd never seen such an extreme case. She even had spots in her mouth, throat and ears.

Today aged 10 she has quite a lot of scarring 😕

disconnected1 · 01/06/2022 21:08

She was getting fresh spots for over 7 days as well

SamanthaVimes · 02/06/2022 06:01

I saw this asked on r/sciencebasedparenting the other day and people have linked some studies that might help you decide

www.reddit.com/r/ScienceBasedParenting/comments/uzt9w9/does_chickenpox_vaccine_provide_long_term/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

I’m planning on getting DD vaccinated at some point after DS is born (waiting to hear from pharmacist if it’s sensible to wait until DS isn’t a newborn as I think in rare cases you can become contagious for a little while after the vaccine)

stillherenow · 02/06/2022 06:05

My dd caught chicken pox aged 10 a week before she was due the vaccine. It was awful, she had it on her eyeball and had to see a specialist eye doctor. It's a horrible illness. Get the vaccine !

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