Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine??

Stasia - posted on 04/06/2009

Yes, it is after a year in Canada. I am doing some volunteer work at an immunization clinic at the moment and I was told that the immunization may only last for ten years. If this is the case you could always wait and see if your child gets it naturally and then if they don't then you could always vaccinate them later if you are concerned.

Katie - posted on 04/06/2009

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate the feedback! I'm very much leaning towards not having him vaccinated, my husband agrees.

But we do still have time to think about, I don't think they normally vaccinate infants until a year old for chicken pox? (In canada..)



Thanks again!

Emily - posted on 04/05/2009

Well firstly I am very PRO vaccination. But this is one vaccine we wont be getting. I'd rather my son have it as a child than develop it as an adult and potentially die from the complications. Pox is so much more dangerous for an adult.

Lisa - posted on 04/05/2009

My Dr said not to get it bc  it wears off and most adults don't get booster shots, and chicken pox is worse in adults.  So it would wear off when they would need it the most.

Nancy - posted on 04/05/2009

5 month old daughter had hers and I didn't note any type of reaction. I had the chicken pox really bad as a child and have the scars to prove it so I went ahead and vaccinated her. It's not a necessary one but if you plan to put her in daycare than it could save you a headache later on.

Ally - posted on 04/05/2009

i am an RN too and we will not be getting it for our daughter..she wont get the mmr either these were childhood illnesses meant to be had when kids were young and with all the new vaccines you are basically setting your kids up to get these diseases as an adult when they are much more dangerous...think about it...if a vaccine works for about ten years which they are finding is the average length...your kid will need boosters right around the time they are in college or your adults...how many kids arerunning to the doctors to make sure they are current in their immunizations...not many! I would personally prefer my daughter to get it ...and maybe have a crappy week or so but then have life long immunity and never worry about the disease as an adult.

Emily - posted on 04/03/2009

Quoting Laura:

if they don't get them you need to sign a release that pretty much states that if you're child isn't vaccinated and spreads something that the vaccine was designed to prevent you are solely responsible.

Don't know where the original poster is from but if it is anywhere in the USA the school exemptions say nothing of this sort.

Laura - posted on 04/03/2009

My cousin got the chicken pox 3 months after getting the vaccine and she had to be hospitlaized because she got it a lot worse than her brother and sister who were only a few years older than her. I never got the vaccine and had the chicken pox really bad when I was 12. Both my kids got the vaccine, but I don't have much faith in it either. I definitely think it depends on the person. Every body reacts differently to everything. I never had a problem with vaccines as a kid and neither did my sister. But my brother cannot have the DtaP shot because he has a severe allergy to it. So I would suggest looking at family history. Sometimes that has a lot to do with it. I totally agree that it's the parents decision. But now a days there are a lot of shots kids need to get in order to start kindergarten or daycare and if they don't get them you need to sign a release that pretty much states that if you're child isn't vaccinated and spreads something that the vaccine was designed to prevent you are solely responsible. Which I understand that, but you need to decide what's best for your child not what everyone else should happen. You know you're child better than anyone else.

Emily - posted on 04/03/2009

It's good you've started your research! It's nobody's decision but yours. I didn't get it for my older daughter ( or the younger one either but she is not part of this antecdote...) and it went around her daycare. I was actually kind of releived that it was going around because she could get it when she was young and I wasn't yet pregnant so the timing seemed perfect. Guess what, half of the kids got it. She was not one of them but she was the only unvaxed kid. I would really like her to get cp before age 11 but i (jut from personal experience) don't have much faith in the vaccine.

Sara - posted on 04/03/2009

It is tough, I'm feeling the same as you, but I think I'm leaning towards getting it, just because chicken pox is soooo miserable, if I could lessen or eliminate my daughter's suffering, I will do it.

April - posted on 04/03/2009

i will agree that i was deathly ill with pnemonia chicken pox. however my first two kids got them and then the vaccine had been out long enough that i went ahead and let the last three kids get it. but i do have a 12 week old and its always a little scary what were giving these kids cause im finding out my teens need boosters for all these cause the ones they got werent good enough. i was the oldest of four and my mom got them too and yet everyone did fine but me. so again,its a tough choice and you do chance a mild outbreak with the vaccine. but again you have to be comfortable. with all the vaccines and then everyone covered and your child doesnt get it and then later gets chicken pox as an adult ; those high fevers become much more serious. so just get it done while theyre young