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The study, which is nothing more then a review of the numbers of cases of shingles from 1992 to 2010 shows an 39% increase of shingles cases. The authors of this review says that the data "suggests" that the rise in incidence is unrelated to the chicken pox vaccine. They also say that they have no idea what is causing the rise. This is not definitive and there are still many questions that have gone unanswered.
Clearly more information is needed before anyone can say with any certainty that the varicella vaccine has nothing to do with he rise in shingles cases.
Complications from chicken pox are rare. I never said they did not exist. Just as complications from the varicella vaccine are rare, but not unheard of.
I feel that this particular vaccine is one that should be completely left up to the parents to decide as the disease itself is relatively mild. Chicken pox is not in the same category as polio. Not even close. Most countries do not routinely vaccinate children for varicella. I feel that the benefits of lifetime immunity make getting the disease vs the vaccine worthwhile. I do not feel that this is a necessary vaccination to be used in a routine manner. I do think it should be available on a case by case basis though and if parents want to get it, they should. If they don't then they should not be coerced to do so.
I feel that this particular vaccine is one that should be completely left up to the parents to decide as the disease itself is relatively mild. Chicken pox is not in the same category as polio. Not even close. Most countries do not routinely vaccinate children for varicella. I feel that the benefits of lifetime immunity make getting the disease vs the vaccine worthwhile. I do not feel that this is a necessary vaccination to be used in a routine manner. I do think it should be available on a case by case basis though and if parents want to get it, they should. If they don't then they should not be coerced to do so.
Heck, polio is generally mild in most people. And the anti-vax people use that in their anti-vax arguments.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 06-07-2014 at 04:26 PM..
Children who get the chicken pox vaccine are also at risk for shingles later on. The chicken pox vaccine offers temporary immunity while catching the actual chicken pox offers lifetime immunity. Both open up the a person up for the possibility of shingles later in life.
Prior to the advent of the chicken pox vaccine, almost everyone got the chicken pox as children, a small percentage got it as adults. 99% of kids who got chicken pox had no complications. Children having chicken pox served an important role in warding off shingles in the community. Post chicken pox, people's natural immunity would get asymptomatically "boosted" by coming into contact with children infected with chicken pox. This "boosting" of natural immunity to chickenpox helped protect people from getting shingles later in life. Now people have to rely on getting multiple vaccines for both chicken pox and shingles.
Chicken pox is becoming rarer and rarer so adults are no longer getting the boost to their immune systems from coming into contact with children recovering from chicken pox. Many speculate that we will see a rise in shingles cases due to this fact. I actually think the chicken pox vaccine has caused more harm then good and I wish people would rethink this.
The protection from chickenpox vaccine appears to be long lasting for most who take it. It is new enough that we have not had time enough to know for sure. If it looks as if boosters are needed, then the experts will recommend them. If we take tetanus boosters, why is it so evil to need boosters of other vaccines?
Shingles after the vaccine is less common than shingles after a wild virus infection.
"Although uncommon among children, the rate of herpes zoster in U.S. children has been declining since the routine varicella vaccination program started. Varicella vaccine contains live attenuated VZV, which causes latent infection. The attenuated vaccine virus can reactivate and cause herpes zoster; however, children vaccinated against varicella appear to have a lower risk of herpes zoster than people who were infected with wild-type VZV.[10] The reason for this is that vaccinated children are less likely to become infected with wild-type VZV, and the risk of reactivation of vaccine-strain VZV is lower compared with reactivation of wild-type VZV."
Since you are less likely to get shingles from chickenpox vaccine than from a wild chickenpox virus, as the population ages any booster effect from exposure of adults who have previously had chickenpox to wild virus will simply become inconsequential. Meanwhile, adults at higher risk for shingles can take the chickenpox vaccine that reduces the risk of shingles by 50%, Zostavax.
Whether the chickenpox vaccine has had anything to do with shingles in adults is in doubt:
Also, the evidence that chickenpox vaccine has reduced deaths from chickenpox is so overwhelming that it is difficult to understand how you can say the vaccine does "more harm than good."
"The researchers found that overall, there was an 88% decline in varicella-related deaths: deaths from pneumonia; deaths from encephalitis; and deaths from overwhelming group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal infections that arose in the blisters caused by varicella. They also found a significant 97% reduction in the number of deaths in children younger than 6 years of age, and a significant 96% reduction in deaths in adults under 50 years of age.
What we have learned from this is that, not surprisingly, the varicella vaccine works. Not only did it work in prelicensure trials to show that it was efficacious, but it also has worked in postlicensure effectiveness trials. We can only expect a further decline in deaths now that we have a recommendation for a second dose, initiated in 2006. This should result in another 10-fold reduction in cases and, I think, a virtual elimination of deaths."
We should take our hats off to all those who were involved in the development of this lifesaving vaccine."
I feel that this particular vaccine is one that should be completely left up to the parents to decide as the disease itself is relatively mild. Chicken pox is not in the same category as polio. Not even close. Most countries do not routinely vaccinate children for varicella. I feel that the benefits of lifetime immunity make getting the disease vs the vaccine worthwhile. I do not feel that this is a necessary vaccination to be used in a routine manner. I do think it should be available on a case by case basis though and if parents want to get it, they should. If they don't then they should not be coerced to do so.
My daughter caught chickenpox from my husband this past Christmas. He had shingles (from having actual chickenpox back in the day). She attends daycare 12 hours per week and even though they have a policy she was too young for the vaccine.
All of the infants, babies, and kids who were not vaccinated had to be quarantined. Some of those infants were 3 and 4 months old. I was so stressed out about it. God forbid one of them has some medical issue where catching the disease could have harmed them, or they ended up with dozens of pocks all over their faces (like some babies) or hundreds all over their bodies.
It's not my decision to make for other parents even though I inadvertently did. And isn't that the issue here when it comes to vaccinations? We are in a sense making decisions for other families.
Anyhow, I don't think anyone should be forced into vaccinating, but I do think as a society we need to come up with some kind of option that will appease both sides. Private day cares are within their rights to refuse children based on vaccinations, so that's a start. I'm not sure how it goes with public vs private schools.
My daughter caught chickenpox from my husband this past Christmas. He had shingles (from having actual chickenpox back in the day). She attends daycare 12 hours per week and even though they have a policy She was too young for the vaccine.
All of the infants, babies, and kids who were not vaccinated had to be quarantined. Some of those infants were 3 and 4 months old. I was so stressed out about it. God forbid one of them has some medical issue where catching the disease could have harmed them, or they ended up with dozens of pocks all over their faces (like some babies) or hundreds all over their bodies.
It's not my decision to make for other parents even though I inadvertently did. And isn't that the issue here when it comes to vaccinations? We are in a sense making decisions for other families.
Anyhow, I don't think anyone should be forced into vaccinating, but I do think as a society we need to come up with some kind of option that will appease both sides. Private day cares are within their rights to refuse children based on vaccinations, so that's a start. I'm not sure how it goes with public vs private schools.
Public schools cannot exclude students for being unimmunized unless and until there is an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease for which the students are not immunized. For example, if chickenpox breaks out in a school, unimmunized kids can be excluded for three weeks, which is the incubation period. Sadly, it's often the unimmunized child who is the initial case.
My daughter caught chickenpox from my husband this past Christmas. He had shingles (from having actual chickenpox back in the day). She attends daycare 12 hours per week and even though they have a policy she was too young for the vaccine.
All of the infants, babies, and kids who were not vaccinated had to be quarantined. Some of those infants were 3 and 4 months old. I was so stressed out about it. God forbid one of them has some medical issue where catching the disease could have harmed them, or they ended up with dozens of pocks all over their faces (like some babies) or hundreds all over their bodies.
It's not my decision to make for other parents even though I inadvertently did. And isn't that the issue here when it comes to vaccinations? We are in a sense making decisions for other families.
Anyhow, I don't think anyone should be forced into vaccinating, but I do think as a society we need to come up with some kind of option that will appease both sides. Private day cares are within their rights to refuse children based on vaccinations, so that's a start. I'm not sure how it goes with public vs private schools.
I think that we may need better education and support for women when it comes to breastfeeding. If mom had varicella as a child then the antibodies will be present in her milk and she can pass these antibodies onto her baby. This will provide increased protection to her baby for as long as she breastfeeds. I also think we need a better education campaign as to the benefits of long term breastfeeding to get rid of the stigma. Breastfeeding can protect babies when they are young. Chicken pox is most dangerous to adults. I would prefer my children to be exposed in childhood but since it is no longer common, they probably won't unless I really look for it. I suppose I am taking the approach that nearly every country outside of the US has taken which is to hold off on the chicken pox vaccine until more is known about it's long term impact and effects. There is still so much that we don't know.
My daughter caught chickenpox from my husband this past Christmas. He had shingles (from having actual chickenpox back in the day). She attends daycare 12 hours per week and even though they have a policy she was too young for the vaccine.
All of the infants, babies, and kids who were not vaccinated had to be quarantined. Some of those infants were 3 and 4 months old. I was so stressed out about it. God forbid one of them has some medical issue where catching the disease could have harmed them, or they ended up with dozens of pocks all over their faces (like some babies) or hundreds all over their bodies.
It's not my decision to make for other parents even though I inadvertently did. And isn't that the issue here when it comes to vaccinations? We are in a sense making decisions for other families.
Anyhow, I don't think anyone should be forced into vaccinating, but I do think as a society we need to come up with some kind of option that will appease both sides. Private day cares are within their rights to refuse children based on vaccinations, so that's a start. I'm not sure how it goes with public vs private schools.
I don't many qualms against requiring parents to vaccinate their children. However, I do think some other strategies deserve consideration. For example, I wonder if paying parents a small amount of money to get their children all their immunizations might increase immunization rates? Also, the availability of the services could be improved some areas. My wife advocated for a mobile vaccination van in her health department. Sometimes, she would set up shop next to school registration officials. Parents would be confronted at registration with the fact that their children hadn't been vaccinated and she would literally give them their missing shots right at the registration site. Lack of convenient access to vaccination is still a factor some in low vaccination rates for children.
Of course, our state (unwisely IMO) allows parents to avoid vaccinating their children by claiming nothing other than a "personal objection" to vaccination. A vaccination waiver must be obtained from the health department. I would deliberately make it a bit difficult to claim the waivers. Even acts like requiring such parents to travel to a remote place in the county at a specific day and time and first watch a movie about infectious disease would stop some of the more half-hearted people who wanted a waiver from claiming one.
I think we could be more imaginative than we are and pursue strategies completely within the law that could result in a substantial increase in vaccination rates.
I think that we may need better education and support for women when it comes to breastfeeding. If mom had varicella as a child then the antibodies will be present in her milk and she can pass these antibodies onto her baby. This will provide increased protection to her baby for as long as she breastfeeds. I also think we need a better education campaign as to the benefits of long term breastfeeding to get rid of the stigma. Breastfeeding can protect babies when they are young. Chicken pox is most dangerous to adults. I would prefer my children to be exposed in childhood but since it is no longer common, they probably won't unless I really look for it. I suppose I am taking the approach that nearly every country outside of the US has taken which is to hold off on the chicken pox vaccine until more is known about it's long term impact and effects. There is still so much that we don't know.
This isn't new information for me, so I'm not sure what better education would have done. I was at the end of breastfeeding her and I did hope she would have immunity, but it wasn't enough. I had chickenpox as a child.
This isn't new information for me, so I'm not sure what better education would have done. I was at the end of breastfeeding her and I did hope she would have immunity, but it wasn't enough. I had chickenpox as a child.
Did she have a mild case though? Breastfeeding will not necessarily prevent all cases but it will help the baby to be able to fight it as the baby will have your antibodies to help with that fight. The complications and deaths are ultimately what we need to avoid and breastfeeding helps with those things.
I am not saying that you needed more education and support but clearly many women do need more education and support with breastfeeding. This would be so beneficial in so many ways yet all of the focus is solely on vaccines.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Braunwyn
It's not my decision to make for other parents even though I inadvertently did. And isn't that the issue here when it comes to vaccinations? We are in a sense making decisions for other families.
This is the thing though, even with vaccines and modern medicine we don't get to choose if we get sick or not. We can do certain things to prevent getting sick, vaccines are just one of those things but we are still all at risk for getting sick and if someone caught the chicken pox from your daughter then that is just how life works.
Last edited by MissTerri; 06-07-2014 at 05:38 PM..
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