10yr Old has Never Had ChickenPox - Get Vax? - Page 3

[miss_honeyb]

Originally Posted by EviesMom

I believe that you don't want CP while pregnant, nor while the baby is really little. However, from what I understand, the concern with under 1 year olds is that they will not *retain immunity* not that it's dangerous for them to get CP.

Personally in your situation I would check titers and see that the 10 year old hasn't been exposed and not shown much sign. My DD has great immunity even though we weren't sure if her very few spots were CP or coincidentally-timed bug bites . Then I would wait until the new baby is 10ish months or more to look for CP. But, you have to be comfortable with your decision.

You can also get the vax, but still get the 10 year old exposed later because the exposure should boost his immunity even if he's had the vaccine.

Thanks, this is a great answer!! I was under the same impression that infants under 1yr who get CP may not develop immunity and might therefore get CP again. So not dangerous, right? But I would not want to be exposed while I'm pregnant, right?

Actually, I was planning on getting a titer drawn on our 2.5 yr old, because he had what I *thought* was CP when he was 2, but none of the other kids caught it, so then I assumed it was a million bug bites. Sounds similar to your DD.

Originally Posted by sunflowergirll

We have decided to hold off on the CP vax for now. If my child was 10 without titers, I might rethink it. Definitely at 20 without titers. My understanding is that it would be bad for my daughter to be pregnant and contract chicken pox.

Good question.

We'll have the titer drawn, for sure, but I'm thinking if she doesn't get CP in the next 2-3 years, maybe doing the vaccine.

Thanks for your input!!

Originally Posted by Talula Fairie

I think the chicken pox vaccine itself is a lot scarier than chicken pox at an older age...

Why?? This is what I'm weighing... I felt that the vaccine at 1 year old v.s. getting CP in her early childhood was an easy choice, but now it starts to even out. Vaccine v.s. chicken pox at an older age seems maybe less obvious. As far as I've read, the vaccine itself isn't much of a risk, as far as vaccines go. Why is it scarier?

Originally Posted by serenitii

To the original poster -- I don't know what I would do in your situation. I have a feeling I may be in your shoes a few years from now. Chickenpox is not something you want to get as an adult; much greater risks. I think I read that in England right now, most deaths caused by CP are in adults.

Right, that's what I've read. (Even though, obviously, some people get CP at an older age and are fine.) So I'd much rather she NOT get the vaccine as a child and catch CP naturally. BUT that didn't happen, so now we're at a different decision. How do the risks of the vaccine compare to getting CP at an older age? If she doesn't catch it in the next 2 years, would the vaccine then be a valid/good choice?


Well, I think we'll just start at square one and have titers drawn on all the kids, and if none of them are immune, I'll look into getting them exposed when this in utero baby is one. So that will be October 2010, and DD will be 11 1/2. That doesn't seem too old, where it would be a scary thing. If she doesn't catch it by 12 or 13, I'll seriously consider the vaccine at that point.

Plus, if I could have all 4 kids catch it at once, then we'd just be DONE with it.

Thank you all for the great info. You are a wealth of knowledge!!

[Talula Fairie]

Originally Posted by miss_honeyb

Why?? This is what I'm weighing... I felt that the vaccine at 1 year old v.s. getting CP in her early childhood was an easy choice, but now it starts to even out. Vaccine v.s. chicken pox at an older age seems maybe less obvious. As far as I've read, the vaccine itself isn't much of a risk, as far as vaccines go. Why is it scarier?

Because it's pretty rare, even if you were to get it late in life, to die of chickenpox. Yes your chances of death might be a little higher if you get it when you're older (60% of the deaths from chicken pox were adults), but the chances are still very low. The chicken pox vaccine has not been studied extensively. We don't know it's long term effects. It, like all other vaccines, contains aluminum, a known neruotoxin for which experts admit there is "no known safe level" of ingestion. This particular vaccine is live and actually one of the higher risk vaccines, especially when you consider the benefits. I think you're way more likely to have a complication from the vaccine itself than from chicken pox.

Not to mention, I think it screws up your health in the future, you're more likely to get shingles from being vax'ed than not, and the article I will link to below talks about how being truly immune to chicken box (getting it naturally) can also make you resistant to other diseases.

"Nor, perhaps, is the vaccine as safe as advertised. A 2000 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association disclosed a wealth of reports made by doctors and parents to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). "This FDA report confirms our concern that the chickenpox vaccine may be more reactive than anticipated in individuals with both known and unknown biological high risk factors," said Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). 11

Allowing for underreporting, the authors estimated that 4 percent of vaccine-induced adverse reactions (about 1 in 33,000 doses) were serious, resulting in shock, convulsions, encephalitis, thrombocytopenia, and 14 deaths. The report adds 17 adverse events to the manufacturer's product label, including secondary bacterial infections (cellulitis), secondary transmission (infection of close contacts), and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

"This vaccine should not be mandated," said Fisher. "There are too many questions about the true adverse event and efficacy profile of this relatively new live virus vaccine." 12 Fisher's concerns are not theoretical. Her son was left with multiple learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder after a severe reaction to a DPT shot. "

and

The CDC estimates that the 4 million annual cases result in 11,000 hospitalizations and 100 deaths every year. (Although deaths first became reportable to the CDC only in 1999.) The risk of death from chickenpox complications in healthy children is quite minimal. However, the CDC contends that chickenpox is the leading "vaccine-preventable" killer of children, and many clinical studies have been published attesting to the vaccine's safety and efficacy.

But, some vaccine critics say, the wild version has its advantages. Allegedly, it produces much higher antibody levels than the vaccine, making individuals less prone to developing shingles, the adult version of chickenpox.

***

from http://www.mothering.com/articles/gr...pox_party.html

Read the article. There's a lot more in there.

Ultimately to me, I think of what we knew of Chicken Pox when I was a kid...it was a no-big-deal-everybody-gets-it disease, like head lice or the flu. I think your odds are better for dying in a car crash than dying of Chicken Pox, even if you get it as an adult.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by Talula Fairie

Because it's pretty rare, even if you were to get it late in life, to die of chickenpox. Yes your chances of death might be a little higher if you get it when you're older (60% of the deaths from chicken pox were adults), but the chances are still very low. The chicken pox vaccine has not been studied extensively. We don't know it's long term effects. It, like all other vaccines, contains aluminum, a known neruotoxin for which experts admit there is "no known safe level" of ingestion. This particular vaccine is live and actually one of the higher risk vaccines, especially when you consider the benefits. I think you're way more likely to have a complication from the vaccine itself than from chicken pox.

Not to mention, I think it screws up your health in the future, you're more likely to get shingles from being vax'ed than not, and the article I will link to below talks about how being truly immune to chicken box (getting it naturally) can also make you resistant to other diseases.

"Nor, perhaps, is the vaccine as safe as advertised. A 2000 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association disclosed a wealth of reports made by doctors and parents to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). "This FDA report confirms our concern that the chickenpox vaccine may be more reactive than anticipated in individuals with both known and unknown biological high risk factors," said Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). 11

Allowing for underreporting, the authors estimated that 4 percent of vaccine-induced adverse reactions (about 1 in 33,000 doses) were serious, resulting in shock, convulsions, encephalitis, thrombocytopenia, and 14 deaths. The report adds 17 adverse events to the manufacturer's product label, including secondary bacterial infections (cellulitis), secondary transmission (infection of close contacts), and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

"This vaccine should not be mandated," said Fisher. "There are too many questions about the true adverse event and efficacy profile of this relatively new live virus vaccine." 12 Fisher's concerns are not theoretical. Her son was left with multiple learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder after a severe reaction to a DPT shot. "

and

The CDC estimates that the 4 million annual cases result in 11,000 hospitalizations and 100 deaths every year. (Although deaths first became reportable to the CDC only in 1999.) The risk of death from chickenpox complications in healthy children is quite minimal. However, the CDC contends that chickenpox is the leading "vaccine-preventable" killer of children, and many clinical studies have been published attesting to the vaccine's safety and efficacy.

But, some vaccine critics say, the wild version has its advantages. Allegedly, it produces much higher antibody levels than the vaccine, making individuals less prone to developing shingles, the adult version of chickenpox.

***

from http://www.mothering.com/articles/gr...pox_party.html

Read the article. There's a lot more in there.

Ultimately to me, I think of what we knew of Chicken Pox when I was a kid...it was a no-big-deal-everybody-gets-it disease, like head lice or the flu. I think your odds are better for dying in a car crash than dying of Chicken Pox, even if you get it as an adult.

I agree with you about this vaccine, however it does not contain aluminum, nor do all vaccines contain aluminum.
http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_...varivax_pi.pdf

[Talula Fairie]

Originally Posted by Marnica

I agree with you about this vaccine, however it does not contain aluminum, nor do all vaccines contain aluminum.
http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_...varivax_pi.pdf

Interesting. I read virtually all of them do contain it. Thanks for the correction

After checking http://www.informedchoice.info/cocktail.html I learned:

It does contain phosphate, MSG, sucrose, and the following (which may not be a health issue but could be an issue for some people morally speaking):

processed gelatin, fetal bovine serum, guinea pig embryo cells, albumin from human blood, and human diploid cells from aborted fetal tissue

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by SoCaliMommy

I was forced into 1 dose of the vax to be able to leave the hospital after my son was born.

You don't have to vaccinate to leave the hospital though drs say it all the time. The should never give a live vaccine to a mom with a newborn, particularly if you were bf.

[sunflowergirll]

Originally Posted by Emmeline II

Actually, that was a significant concern leading to the development of the vaccine.

Emmeline, I definitely understand developing the vaccine and administrating it to seniors. But children? They handle CP just fine (vast majority of the time). Plus we're now seeing MORE cases of shingles now that the natural herd immunity is waning.

So, in terms of vaccinating children, I do think that economics plays a role. Either for parents, or for the manufacturer.