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You will see that a fair number of countries in Europe DO recommend chickenpox vaccine, including the UK despite what someone upthread claimed to the contrary.
It's not part of the standard UK schedule, available as part of the National Health Scheme, except in very specific cases: "It is recommended for certain individuals, such as healthcare workers and people who come into close contact with someone who has a weakened immune system. This is to lower the chances of infecting those at risk." (Chickenpox (varicella) vaccine - Vaccinations - NHS Choices) So perhaps it's something doctors and nurses get, but I don't know a single child who's had it.
The main differences I've found from the UK to the US is that my kids needed to have a slightly different meningitis vac (one with 4 strains, rather than 3, I think), and to also have Hep B vaccines. For chicken pox, the school allowed me to fill in a 'personal belief' waiver, i.e. 'I personally believe my kids don't need to have the chicken pox vaccine, because they've both had actual chicken pox - here's the spotty photos!'
It seems a favorite anti-vaccination line is that "no other country uses 'Vaccine X' ". Generally, this is untrue. For example, here is what European countries recommend about chickenpox vaccine: Vaccine Schedule (Click on varicella, the medical name for chickenpox) You will see that a fair number of countries in Europe DO recommend chickenpox vaccine, including the UK despite what someone upthread claimed to the contrary. And good grief, the vaccine has been licensed in the US for 19 years, and in Japan for 10 years prior to that, so there is almost 30 years of experience with it!
The UK along with most countries (japan included) only recommend the varicella vaccine for specific groups of people. It is not recommended for all children like it is here in the US.
In the US, and several European countries as well, a second dose of chickenpox vaccine is required in childhood.
From memory (since it didn't apply to us), I think that Switzerland DID routinely vaccinate babies for chicken pox, so this is a fair point. No idea on the dosage schedules, though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiana
No one is safe from shingles. People got it long before the vaccine came out. I got it in 1984.
Well yes, I'm not saying that countries with 'wild' chicken pox don't HAVE shingles; it just seems to be that they have it less (based on my sample size of one in either case).
Of course, the 'less shingles' would have to balanced against the number of severe chicken pox complications resulting from kids catching the natural virus. Ultimately, it seems to be a fine line judgement call, delicately balancing issues of potential personal hardship with those of the greater good, financial pressures, practicality, etc, with the US (and others) going one way, and the UK (and others) going another. 'Different isn't the same as wrong', as I tell my kids.
It's not part of the standard UK schedule, available as part of the National Health Scheme, except in very specific cases: "It is recommended for certain individuals, such as healthcare workers and people who come into close contact with someone who has a weakened immune system. This is to lower the chances of infecting those at risk." (Chickenpox (varicella) vaccine - Vaccinations - NHS Choices) So perhaps it's something doctors and nurses get, but I don't know a single child who's had it.
The main differences I've found from the UK to the US is that my kids needed to have a slightly different meningitis vac (one with 4 strains, rather than 3, I think), and to also have Hep B vaccines. For chicken pox, the school allowed me to fill in a 'personal belief' waiver, i.e. 'I personally believe my kids don't need to have the chicken pox vaccine, because they've both had actual chicken pox - here's the spotty photos!'
I see. The wording is a bit confusing in the link I used.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissTerri
The UK along with most countries (japan included) only recommend the varicella vaccine for specific groups of people. It is not recommended for all children like it is here in the US.
The following European countries recommend chickenpox vaccine for all children:
Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece (one dose with boosters for specific circumstances), Latvia, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Spain. Poland and the UK recommend it for certain groups of people. Canada recommends two doses; Australia and New Zealand recommend one dose of varicella vaccine for all children.
Can we discuss a different vaccination, since there seem to be a lot of usefully informed people here?
It's the newish one for HPV, to prevent cervical cancer. I have a 10 yr old girl, and she will 'automatically' be getting it soon, as per the recommendations (both in the US and UK ).
Recently, however, it's been reported that HPV is the cause of oral cancers in men (and perhaps women..? Dunno). And it's been suggested that teen boys should get it too, partly as a herd immunity prevention measure to protect their future partners, and partly to help prevent them getting future oral cancers. So I'm strongly considering getting this for my 14 yr old son* The only thing making me hesitate is that he's HUGELY needle-phobic (goes pale and clammy, swoons, on verge of throwing up, has to lay down for some time afterwards so as not to pass out, etc) so we have a deal that he only has to have really important life-saving injections, not more optional ones like annual flu jabs.
Does anyone here have an opinion on HPV for boys, as well as girls?
*no, it's not already too late, if anyone was wondering. Unless, that is, HPV is transmittable via Skype and multiplayer gaming, as that's what constitutes most of his social life!
Can we discuss a different vaccination, since there seem to be a lot of usefully informed people here?
It's the newish one for HPV, to prevent cervical cancer. I have a 10 yr old girl, and she will 'automatically' be getting it soon, as per the recommendations (both in the US and UK ).
Recently, however, it's been reported that HPV is the cause of oral cancers in men (and perhaps women..? Dunno). And it's been suggested that teen boys should get it too, partly as a herd immunity prevention measure to protect their future partners, and partly to help prevent them getting future oral cancers. So I'm strongly considering getting this for my 14 yr old son* The only thing making me hesitate is that he's HUGELY needle-phobic (goes pale and clammy, swoons, on verge of throwing up, has to lay down for some time afterwards so as not to pass out, etc) so we have a deal that he only has to have really important life-saving injections, not more optional ones like annual flu jabs.
Does anyone here have an opinion on HPV for boys, as well as girls?
*no, it's not already too late, if anyone was wondering. Unless, that is, HPV is transmittable via Skype and multiplayer gaming, as that's what constitutes most of his social life!
My son has gotten it. I don't believe viruses totally single just one sex out for any disease. Plus, the reality is you can't always be sure what your teenage son may be doing.
Because they can compromise your immune system and leave you vulnerable to other illnesses you might not get otherwise!!!
Nature provided us with an immune system FOR A REASON!!! -- It didnt intend that system to be filled with garbage.
They don't compromise anything since the vaccines hold dead viruses. The MMR and Varicella vaccines hold mostly dead viruses, but you can order the dead ones if you fear your immune system is already compromised. You can put dead junk in your body. Your body will know what to do about it. It sees the dead viruses and automatically creates the ability to recognize and fight that virus if it were to enter the body as a live virus. Not at any point is the body's immune system compromised during this process unless it's already compromised. Then it's another problem...your body's problem not the vaccine's problem.
Your body can only fight what it recognizes. In most cases, your body has to get the virus in order to fight it. Some viruses can make you seriously ill before your body can fight it off. That's usually too late. Do you realize that the varicella virus does not actually die off in your body? True, once you get the chicken pox you are not likely to get it again. But, the virus is not out of your system. It goes dormant until your body's immune system gets compromised. Then it comes back as shingles. Shingles can be painful and make you feel pretty sick. There's no cure for shingles. That's why the Varicella vaccine was produced and highly recommended by doctors. It never truly goes away. The only way to get rid of the chicken pox and stop shingles is to protect yourself from the first outbreak of chicken pox to begin with. The vaccine helps the body learn to fight against the varicela virus before it enters the body. When it does eventually, the body fights it off immediately making it very unlikely you will get it in the first place and the virus dies off before it goes dormant. This is why there are big efforts to create an HIV/AIDS vaccine. That would be a nice virus to fight off before it gets a chance to do any harm.
So that garbage that the doctors fill you with is actually doing more good than harm. Don't be part of the problem and spread diseases. Get yourself vaccinated and live a longer life. I was a holistic practitioner (massage therapist of both Eastern and Western techniques). I still lead a life of not eating garbage like high fructose corn syrup and not too much sugar. I'm not perfect and I don't often have a choice in what is in the foods I eat, but I just try my best to be careful. I too was taught that vaccines are garbage. I questioned whether I should get my kids vaccinated, but truth be told, it doesn't harm them to be vaccinated. I got them done on a modified schedule I was comfortable with while getting them fully vaccinated. I feel good about what I did because I'm helping to rid the world of the harmful viruses and keeping my boys healthier in the process.
Last edited by Azile; 06-08-2014 at 10:44 AM..
Reason: obvious spelling error
I think that the point that kodokan was making is that people in the US who had the chicken pox prior to the introduction of the varicella vaccine are no longer getting that natural "boost" to their immunity that people once got from being exposed to the chicken pox over and over again. This "boost" was what helped ward of shingles. People can't get that boost naturally anymore because it's now very rare to come across anyone with the varicella. Without that boost, it seems that people are coming down with shingles at younger ages and in increased numbers.
Although there was concern that vaccinating for chickenpox might increase the risk of shingles in people who have had chickenpox, that does not appear to be true.
The study looked at people over the age of 65, because that is a high risk age group.
"They found that annual rates of shingles increased 39 percent over the 18-year study period. However, they didn't find a statistically significant change in the rate after the introduction of the chickenpox vaccine. They also found that the rate of shingles didn't vary from state to state where there were different rates of chickenpox vaccine coverage."
The rate was increasing before the vaccine was introduced and the rate increases in areas where there were lower vaccination rates for chickenpox.
Even if there were a protective effect against shingles of re-exposure to wild chickenpox virus, that does not justify not vaccinating children against it. If we need to boost adults, then do it with vaccine. Adults who have not had chickenpox can get the vaccine at any age. it's not limited only to children.
Also, if we vaccinate every child against chickenpox, eventually the shingles rate will go down, since the incidence is lower after the vaccine.
The concern for the increased risk of shingles is one of the reasons the chickenpox vaccine is not routinely given in the UK. It will be interesting to see if the policy changes in light of new information.
Can we discuss a different vaccination, since there seem to be a lot of usefully informed people here?
It's the newish one for HPV, to prevent cervical cancer. I have a 10 yr old girl, and she will 'automatically' be getting it soon, as per the recommendations (both in the US and UK ).
Recently, however, it's been reported that HPV is the cause of oral cancers in men (and perhaps women..? Dunno). And it's been suggested that teen boys should get it too, partly as a herd immunity prevention measure to protect their future partners, and partly to help prevent them getting future oral cancers. So I'm strongly considering getting this for my 14 yr old son* The only thing making me hesitate is that he's HUGELY needle-phobic (goes pale and clammy, swoons, on verge of throwing up, has to lay down for some time afterwards so as not to pass out, etc) so we have a deal that he only has to have really important life-saving injections, not more optional ones like annual flu jabs.
Does anyone here have an opinion on HPV for boys, as well as girls?
*no, it's not already too late, if anyone was wondering. Unless, that is, HPV is transmittable via Skype and multiplayer gaming, as that's what constitutes most of his social life!
Tell your son that the HPV vaccine is definitely one of the important jabs!
Lying down after it is important for all teens, as the most frequent side effect in teenagers is fainting. Also make sure he eats something beforehand and is well hydrated.
HPV in males can also cause penile skin cancers and anal cancers, not just oral cancer.
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