Comments on: Pox Parties – Infecting Kids Since the Dark Ages!

By: Maria

Maria — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:21:52 +0000

Like many posters I think that clearly there is not enough evidence at this point to see how adult shingles will be effected so it is too early to say. I have read some essays on the fact that before the vaccine adults received a “natural booster” of sorts from coming into contact with children with chicken pox which lowered chances of developing shingles which is why, until now, it was most common is the very elderly who often have much less contact with children. Based on this I suspect that boosters will continue to be added to the schedule, as one has been already.

My other concern with the vaccine is that a vaccinated mother (that never had the natural disease) does not pass on the same level of immunity to her breastfed infant. Since it it only approved for children one year and over I wonder if this won’t open up a whole generation of newborns who are at much greater risk and for whom there is currently no answer.

I am a strong believer in science, but I think it is not wholly true to present vaccines as risk free or 100% percent effective all the time. They do come with risks, and they do come with side effects. I think there needs to be a more open dialogue about vaccines and a more transparent exchange of information. I support vaccines, but as I parent I also think it is within my rights to have all the facts about a vaccine before I give it to my child, not just the positive ones.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:17:38 +0000

First off, i’m too old to have had the vaccine as a child and i got chicken pox in the 5th grade through no fault of my parents. I can’t imagine attempting to give my child the disease on purpose due to my experiences: 104 degree fever off and on for 3 days, blisters all over my body, including my throat and the bottoms of my feet so i could hardly walk, 3 weeks out of school, a 2 week period when i was 10 due to how screwed up my system was, and scars that are still on my face at age 33. sounds like fun!

By: HollyTee

HollyTee — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 22:08:59 +0000

My son had both the vaccine and a mild case of the pox itself (though I’m wondering now if it was misdiagnosed), 3 and 4 years ago respectively. He just came down with a HORRENDOUS case of the chicken pox. My doc now tells me that researchers have concluded that one vaccine isn’t enough and that kids need a booster as well.
My two older children caught the disease the “old-fashioned way” while my two younger ones got the immunization. My little one has them every bit as bad as his two older sisters did, maybe worse. I have a friend coming over tomorrow to share a lollipop between her daughter and my son, and I don’t blame her at all. I definitely had a false sense of security with this vaccine, but I know his immunity will be a sure thing when he recovers. My friend would rather her strong, healthy daughter obtain her immunity by going through the disease, rather than taking the vaccine. And of course, if I had known we’d end with a whopping case of the disease anyway, I’d have skipped the stupid vaccine in the first place.

By: atimetorend

atimetorend — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:36:41 +0000

I hope my comment wasn’t read as saying the ch. pox is a trivial inconvenience, I completely agree with the two comments following mine. I guess what I was getting at is that I do not take issue with parents who forgo the chicken pox vaccine for their kids; I think that is a reasonable personal decision, even though I immunized my children for it. But I disagree strongly and vocally with parents who do not immunize their children for MMR and whooping cough.

By: WonderingWilla

WonderingWilla — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:37:52 +0000

catgirl makes a very good point and I would add that this applies to all the diseases the we are vaccinating against. I would also expand it to the economic realm, who has the job security and the cash reserves to leave work for a week or two to take care of the sick child?

By: catgirl

catgirl — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:21:37 +0000

Chickenpox is not just a trivial inconvenience. Missing a week of school or more (I missed 2 weeks) can really put kid behind, especially if they are struggling to begin with. Pox parties were fine before vaccines, considering that it probably better for a kid to get it before they start school. But now we have a vaccine for it and there’s no reason to put a kid through that.

By: Spencer

Spencer — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:33:09 +0000

Re: atimetorend

That’s exactly the standpoint that th NHS takes here in the UK. They fear a rise in adult shingles will occur if they start vaccinating children for the chicken pox virus. Adult shingles would occur more often until the whole population is vaccinated, then drop off.

I guess we’ll find out once our American trial’s results are in

By: Ticktock

Ticktock — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:32:22 +0000

The cdc does not have enough evidence to make an informed statement about shingles, but they actually believe the opposite of what you claim. They expect that individuals who were vaccinated will be less at risk of shingles. Honestly, that whole issue is up in the air, so I think it is a theoretical argument on both sides. Full blown chicken pox puts you at a known risk of shingles, and the vaccine puts you at an unknown risk of shingles.

By: atimetorend

atimetorend — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:57:58 +0000

I might be wrong, but I think shingles later in life was one of the concerns with the vaccine, that if it waned in strength over the years shingles might be more likely in adults than a good strong dose of the real thing as a child. Boosters might address that, but from a public health standpoint, why not just get it over with by having the disease full blown? Because boosters might or might not be administered to adults (they might just not go back to the doctor), you could theoretically see an increase in shingles as a generation of immunized kids grows up.

That said, my kids received the chicken pox vaccine, so I am partly playing devils advocate. But I don’t think it is a cut and dry case for the vaccine, because the disease is not generally life and health threatening like MMR or polio.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:46:02 +0000

My biggest reason for getting my kids vaccinated against chicken pox was the concern of shingles later in life. I’ve seen a couple people who break out in shingles. It took them out for a whole month. Shingles is not pleasant.