Chickenpox vaccine

[Whathefisgoingon]

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?

I think I'd go for it at age 6/7 OP.

We didn't get ours vaccinated because I didn't know there was one. Always assumed it was just something they had to go through. I wish I had known! It was horrible. All 3 of mine caught it at once. Every inch of them was covered including mouth / throat. They all had temperatures and vomiting. One of my dc has scarring all over her back from it. Nasty illness!

It’s not true that every European country has it.

Ours it’s a private optional vaccine as well. I did ask paediatrician about it and he said they don’t really recommend unless 80% of the country has it as it can wear off after 10 years. So if Ds had it now age 2, he could be needing another by age 12 or younger and likely to catch it as a teen which is worse. If you catch as adult it’s worse also, and you basically need a top up every 10 years for life

Therefore he said they recommend waiting and seeing if caught naturally the first 10 years, as that then gives a lifelong immunity

@Caspianberg But that isn’t factual. Nowhere does it say a booster is required every 10 years.

I considered it but as I have two children it would have cost £320 so I decided to leave it until the were a bit older. They have both just had it and it was a couple of days of discomfort. My ds had hand, foot and mouth far, far worse. It usually is a mild illness.

I've had my DCs vaccinated and I'm very happy with my decision. They have all been exposed to chickenpox since and haven't caught it. It astounds me that we don't do it routinely in this country as some children get terribly poorly with it. Worth every penny in my opinion.

The data shows that people who are vaccinated are still reasonably well protected after 10 yrs (around 80% effectiveness). There isn't a huge amount of evidence past that point. People who have caught the chicken pox can lose some immunity (hence shingles) so it's plausible that those vaccinated might also lose some immunity at some point.

DS had it the vaccine year ago. No brainer in my opinion. He is 6 and I was worried about him catching it as an older child or teen and getting a severe dose.
Also I get recurring shingles as a result if a previous chicken pox infection. Not nice at all and preventable with the jab.