chicken pox vaccine not full proof

SusanJean · Jun 21, 2005

Our personal experiences definitely influence our decisions about vaccines. I worked with a nurse whose daughter, a severe asthmatic, contracted chicken pox while on a course of steroids. Her compromised immune system was no match for the virus. She ended up intubated in the PICU with lesions in her bronchi, and was very sick for a long time. That was before the vaccine was available. My girls got the vaccine. But I do realize that I need to keep abreast of recommendations for boosters.

Any virus vs compromised immune system would be a disaster. Asthma is a bear to deal w/...

AdobeRN · Jun 21, 2005

Did she have the vaccine or cp? How is she now?

She had the vaccine around age of 12-18 months (cant remember), never had the chicken pox. She is 7 years old now and we have only had it that one time.

kids · Jun 22, 2005

A link to the CDC's Varicella Vaccine (clinical) FAQs page.

http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vaccine/varicella/faqs-clinic-vaccine.htm

I believe what I observed from working a busy peds clinic is pretty consistent with the CDC's statement that it has as much as a 30% failure rate but that a severe illness is rare (>50 lesions).

Varicella vaccine is a "live" vaccine. It hasn't been in use long enough to know for sure if revaccination will be necessary. What we do know from many years of using other "live" vaccines (measles, rubella) is that some people may not get lasting immunity from the first immunization so it is possible that a second immunization.

I agree 100% completely that the vaccine was developed to save time and money by keeping kids healthy because chicken pox can and does create a heavy economic toll for a large part of the population.

An uncomplicated case of chicken pox can keep a child out of school or day care for as much as 10-14 days. Not everyone has back up childcare that is willing or able to care for a sick child. That is almost 2 weeks a parent may to stay home with the child and if that child has siblings and they catch it from each other that can add up to a lot of time.

How many people can afford to be off work for 2 weeks without pay?

How many people would still have a job to go back to?

I can understand completely why a parent would make the decision to give a vaccine will likely work and that if it fails results in a shorter, milder illness.

My youngest came down with chicken pox the 2nd day of my second year of pre-reqs. By the time it had made its way through all 3 kids we had it going on for 5 weeks. Had I not had a neighbor who adored my kids and whose own teenagers had already had it, I would have had to drop out of school.

ravenwindrn · Jul 21, 2005

When the vaccine was first made available, I researched it, discussed it w/ my kids' pediatrician and decided against vaccinating them because there was no guarentee that they would not get chicken pox. And, based on the research, they would likely require boosters when they would be older - tho there was no recommendation for this - don't know if there is at this time.
At that time, the ped's office was "recommending" the vaccine to all children. Go figure, none of the peds kids were getting it either. LOL.
My kids got it "naturally" and now have a life time immunity to the virus.
Now many states are requiring that kids have this prior to entering school. IMHO, this is one instance of the drug company (ies) pushing legislation.

I refused the vax for my kids also. Knowing that chicken pox is a whole lot harder on adults than on kids, I didn't like the thought that they would avoid chicken pox throughtout childhood, then get extremely sick with it when they were adults. And, like you said, it's not foolproof anyway.

yogastudentRN · Sep 10, 2005

Well, the meningococcal vaccine is hardly ever recommended, but meningococcal disease kills or brain damages just about everyone who gets it. I think that a dead baby or permanent disability is going to have a lot more impact on a parent's life than missing a couple of weeks of work or school, or even having to drop out a semester.

The whole vaccine thing is not about protecting the population from the diseases that will harm them the most, its about politics and drug companies. We are all so concerned about the 'economic' and social toll of these mild diseases that we are ignoring a huge part of what we are supposed to be doing with vaccinations: preventing death and disability. If you save 1000 parents some money from missed work time, is it worth it for that 1 parent to have lost a child because we weren't vaccinating against the diseases with the 90% + fatality rate?

bethg5 · Sep 10, 2005

My daughter also got the chicken pox after receiving the shot. She was in the 4th grade when she broke out in a small rash. I kept thinking to myself that it looked like chicken pox. I took her to the school nurse and she agreed that is was chicken pox. I said but she had the shot. The nurse said they had around 100 children with the chicken pox and that only 2 hadn't received the shot. One of the teachers daughter caught it and she had also had the shot and she had a horrible case of it! It took her weeks to get over it. My daughter was lucky, it was just mild. I have a 5 yr old and a 2 yr old so I am curious if they will also catch it.

Beth

Jolie, BSN · Sep 12, 2005

Well, the meningococcal vaccine is hardly ever recommended, but meningococcal disease kills or brain damages just about everyone who gets it. I think that a dead baby or permanent disability is going to have a lot more impact on a parent's life than missing a couple of weeks of work or school, or even having to drop out a semester.
The whole vaccine thing is not about protecting the population from the diseases that will harm them the most, its about politics and drug companies. We are all so concerned about the 'economic' and social toll of these mild diseases that we are ignoring a huge part of what we are supposed to be doing with vaccinations: preventing death and disability. If you save 1000 parents some money from missed work time, is it worth it for that 1 parent to have lost a child because we weren't vaccinating against the diseases with the 90% + fatality rate?

Please check the CDC website for the current (2005) guidelines regarding the meningococcal vaccine. It is recommended for adolescents entering middle school, high school, and college.