Chicken Pox Vaccine?

by **Cascadia Counselling Clinic** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 6:08 am

Has anyone done this?
Pros, cons?
My son and I have both not had the chicken pox and we had a scare this week where we thought he had it and I was worried I'd get it eventually too. I don't really want to go through the scare again, but I am not fully decided what is the right choice.
How much is it as well? And how do you go about getting the shot?

s5 · by s5 on Sun Oct 16, 2005 6:38 am

we got it for the kids a few years ago and they sailed through it....is it now part of the free vaccines available?

luckymamato2 · by **luckymamato2** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 6:45 am

It's part of the series of Vaccines that children get now, I think my little guy will be getting it at 12mnths or 18 mnths... I think you have to pay for it otherwise, well the last time I heard you had to pay for it unless your child was born from a certain year onwards...

scottish phantom · by **scottish phantom** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 7:24 am

all 3 of my girls got it.. better to be safe than sorry... more reactions of chicken pox to children than just the normal spots that 99% of kids get.

Jeni · by **Jeni** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 7:24 am

Its free...just call your health unit and set up an appointment...as long as your little one is over a year. I just had 2 of my boys done in the last 2 weeks...one has already had chicken pox and the baby will get the shot when hes 1. It hurts a little more then regular shots cause its sub-cutanious (sp)...right under the skin...but neither of them had any reactions to it at all.

If you are not sure if you want to do the shot just call your health unit and speak to one of the nurses and they can tell you all about it.

Jen

jack's mum · by **jack's mum** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 7:45 am

The major concern about the chicken pox vaccine these days, I think, is its long-term effectiveness. Initial studies have shown that it tends to wear off by adulthood therefore turning the disease from a relatively benign childhood one into a very serious one for adults. Getting chicken pox naturally, on the other hand, boosts their immunity for life so, because dh and I both survived it no problem as children, we decided to let our ds's own immune system do the work and chose not to vaccinate him against it right now. Our dr. just said that if he hasn't contracted it by the time he's about 10 we should get him vaccinated then as his chances of coming down with a more serious case increase after that point. As an adult you can choose to be vaccinated if you're worried about contracting it. Our dr. was very supportive of us not doing it right now (we also chose not to do the MMR vaccine) when we explained our reasons/concerns and, should we change our minds later, so be it. For now anyways, I feel comfortable with our decision. Both dh and I had all these childhood illnessess (CP, measels, rubella, etc.) and we survived them unscathed and have very healthy immune systems to boot so we'll see how ds does over the next few years, I guess. There was a really good thread about all this earlier in the year, with some great links to other websites, I think--if I can find it later I'll bump it up for you.
Tara

D&J&L's_Mommy · by **D&J&L's_Mommy** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:18 am

We had our little guy done at 12 months and it was free, allthough we did have to request it. We were really on the fence as to wether to get it done or not and the deciding factor for us was when our doctor explained that chicken pox often leads to shingles later in life, when you get chicken pox every where that spots appear the shingles virus? stays deep in the nerve and could potentially cause a shingles outbreak any where that a spot was. Also the vaccination does not necasarily prevent the child from getting chicken pox it just stops them from getting a serious case of it- the doctor said that lots of children who get the vaccine get chicken pox but it is often such a mild case that only 4 or 5 spots appear and often parents don't even realize it is chicken pox. So the lower amount of spots decreases the chancs of shingles.
HTH

Slacker Mum · by **Slacker Mum** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:36 am

I had to pay for it with both my kids and even then I am very happy with my decision.

Since then, both of my children have been exposed to chicken pox a few times and the vaccine worked.

My doctor has informed me that the vaccine has been used in Japan for 25 years or so. As a result, even if there are concerns about the long-term effectiveness, we will know about them long before it comes an issue for my children.

However, I'm not sure I understand how the vaccine could wear off. I could well be wrong, but as I understand it, the vaccine gives you some of the same virus as the transmittable disease. Your body then develops anti-bodies. Even if this wasn't enough, my children have now been thoroughly exposed to chicken pox and would have developed additional anti-bodies at that time, if required.

by **Cascadia Counselling Clinic** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 10:20 am

Thanks so much for all the input all. I'm going to call on monday and hopefully get us both vaccinated.

Shae · by **Shae** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 10:26 am

I work at a health unit here is the varicella schedule:

varicella (chickenpox) shot is available for free at
12 months
4-6 years of age
Grade 6

Varicella for children, born on or after Jan 1, 2004, who have not had chickenpox disease, shingles, or previous dose of varicella vaccine.

What are your thoughts in influenza shots are any of you getting that for your kids?

scottish phantom · by **scottish phantom** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 10:55 am

I get the flu shot for me , my family, and my girls every year. I would rather us get a slightly less potent version of the flu than get hit by the one going around full force.

Mel · by **Mel** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:34 am

The Varicella Immunization is offered through Public Health. Phone your local health unit for information

by **Cascadia Counselling Clinic** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 11:57 am

We paid $80 each for all four of our kids and myself and I am so glad we were vaccinated. I was at risk every time I was pregnant and had a couple of real scares when my unimmunized kids were exposed at preschool and I was pregnant with the next baby. After the 3rd child, I got vaccinated. My poor oldest son went for his vaccine after we learned chicken pox was going through the preschool, but we were too late and so less than a week after his shot he came down with chicken pox anyways. I wish I had been able to get the shots for free!

by **guest** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:07 pm

I chose not to vaccinate ds against chicken pox, and purposely exposed him to it. He had a horrible case of chicken pox - probably the worst I've ever seen, but now he's done. He may be at an increased risk of developing shingles, but so are most adults. I know very few people who've had shingles, and most adults have had chicken pox.

There is one other thing that made me want ds to have a normal case of chicken pox. My younger brother had a very mild case when he was a couple years old. Then at 16 years old he was exposed to the virus and got it AGAIN. He was REALLY REALLY sick...it was horrible! His body didn't have enough of the virus to develop immunity and I'm unconvinced as to wether or not the shot exposes you to a sufficent amount.

Shae wrote:
What are your thoughts in influenza shots are any of you getting that for your kids?

I've never had the flu shot and DS had it once due to being on a very high dose of immunosuppressive corticosteriods. Now that he's off them, I will not be vaccinating him this year.

by **Cascadia Counselling Clinic** on Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:59 pm

I think if I had the chicken pox as a child I wouldn't be so quick to immunize my son. I hope that doesn't sound selfish, but I have heard getting chicken pox as an adult can be terrible and I can't really afford to miss that much work!
To the girls that work at the Health Care Unit....So if he is 5 now, he is covered for the free immunization then? Can I get my vaccine at the same time as my son?