I have heard, atleast in PA, that a chicken pox booster is now required. Children will need this before starting school. I know that one is required at around 12 months, but I am talking about a second one.
My sister and I both have 5 year old daughters and at my niece's check up she had to have a booster (the doctors said it was required), but at my daughter's check up, with a different doctors, I was told it was not nessasary.
I am not at all convinced that this shot is nessasary. When my daughter had it, the first time, she had seizers (sp) and could not sleep. She would stare at you like she was not there and her whole personality changed. The Ped said, "That's okay". I did'nt think it was, so needless to say my 3 year old has yet to get hers.
However, I am a bit confused and wanted to know if anyone else has heard of needing a booster. Thanks
Thanks for everyone's responses.
I believe it is based on the county you live in. I am in Anne Arundel, MD. And they required my 5 year old to get it before he started Kindergarten.
None of the vaccines are a must do. There are always ways around it. It's a myth that all kids need to be vaccinated to attend public school. There are kids who attend public schools who aren't vaccinated at all. Anyway, the reason for the booster is that like the MMR, the chicken pox vaccine is not 100% effective. A person still needs to be exposed periodically to it. So it's up to you whether you feel your daughter needs it or not. I can definitely see why you are hesitant since your daughter had such a nasty reaction to the last shot. I wouldn't be okay with that either. There are a few good books/websites out there on vaccinations in general. Check out both sides of the picture before you decide. There are books that swear by it and there are books that say the risks of vaccines outweighs the illness at times. So make sure you get a good mixture of opinions and then decide.
I live in DE, but I take my kids to the doctor in MD. Both my doctor's and school told me it was a requirement for school. I don't know much about it and "knock-on-wood" never had any problems or complications with the shot. Just wanted to share my experience with you...good luck with future experiences ;)
It is very difficult from what you post to determine the cause of your child's seizures. Since you did not follow up, it is hard to tell. The fact is that since vaccinations happen so often, you can imagine that anything from staying up all night to falling off the tricycle were caused by the vaccination. That doesn't mean that the vaccination caused anything. If your child had febrile seizures it could very well be that after examining your child the pediatrician determined that everything was okay. I am not aware that seizures are associated with chicken pox vaccinations.
Chicken pox isn't always -- but can be -- a dangerous disease. Now that people are stopping vaccinating their kids, in areas where no vaccinations are common, horrible diseases that used to be unheard of are coming back.
I would presume that if you felt that your three-year-old was suffering from a neurological problem, you would have followed up by insisting that she receive a thorough examination. Or that you would have switched pediatricians and then demanded another thorough examination.
No vaccination is 100% effective. But now that we are vaccinating our children, a lot of unheard-of horrible diseases are history.
my daughter got all her shots as needed, she's in pre school (just turned 3 )and alot of kids started getting chicken pox.. so just to be safe i went and got her a booster.. my doctor also told me they were starting to give them second doeses of it... i had no problems with it.. here is a web site may answer any questions...http://pediatrics.about.com/od/immunizations/a/06_cpox_up... (just copy and paste it in your browser)
If a sibling had a bad reaction, I would throw seizures into the "bad reaction" category, your ped. should be willing to write a note exempting your younger child. As for the booster, it varies district to district. There is a way to avoid it besides the medical "bad reaction" way. The next time your 5-year old has blood work run, ask them to check her immunity to chicken pox, while she could show up as non-immune. Most kids will show up as immune. Your school district legally has to accept that report and cannot require an immune child to be reimmunized.
H.
I haven't heard of a booster being required in PA. Perhaps it is a school district requirement? Try calling your school district.
I think it's a shame that the chicken pox vaccine is required at all. Far better to get the disease in childhood and have a near-certain assurance of life-long immunity.
I also live in PA. I have had my child's pediatrician try to bully me and guilt me into having the chicken pox vaccine - I refuse to have my (now) 3 1/2 yr old have it. It is my firm belief that this vaccine is NOT necessary, and I resent the state from trying to tell me otherwise. I plan to write a letter stating personal and moral objections to this vaccine, when my child enrolls in kindergarten. I also refuse to have her vaccinated with the HPV vaccine. I have HUGE objections when a drug company is pushing for mandating that one.
The chicken pox vaccine is NOT 100% effective, is actually about 90% effective - with unwanted side effects including breaking out with a mild case of chicken pox anyway. Sorry, but less than 100 children die per year from chicken pox complications - I'd rather take my chance, and either have my child exposed to active chicken pox (which is getting harder and harder to find), or rather have her never contract it.
You stated that one of your children had a type of seizure after the vaccine - that would be a medical reason in my eyes (I'm an RN) to vehemently refuse any further vaccinations of chicken pox/boosters. Your doc should not have brushed you off on that. (Might want to find a new doctor!!)
As for the HPV vaccine - pffftttt --- mandating that girls receive this one - and it only has the potential for protecting against FOUR MEASLY strains of HPV - compare that to the 100's of strains that are out there. I don't think so.
Jennifer (mom to 17 yr old girl and 14 yr old boy - both had chicken pox as children, no complications. Also mom to a 3 1/2 yr old girl).
I also have a 5 year old who I am enrolling in public school and on the registration papers it say only chicken pox vaccine is required. If your daughter had a reaction to the first on would deffinetly not take the chance with giving her a second since vaccines can have serious side effects even death I would certainly not take that chance and don't let a doctor pressure you into it.
As one who works in a school it is required and most states require chicken pox vaccination for school and due to Merck's finding that the one vaccincation does not fully protect against it they are going to be requiring a booster. That said if your daughter had a negative reaction that is directly related to that vaccincation it may be possible to forgo the next shot. I do believe however PA requires vaccinations for students in all public schools, private schools may have different rules and homeschooling is another good option.
I will also say that many people view chicken pox as a neccessary virus of childhood, it can be deadly and does result in death even in industrialized nations due to complications that can never be known in advance.
I guess eventually whne children start getting polio agsain and dying b/c people feel they are uneccessary we will realize the importnace of shots and the low risk for deadly reactions to them. What will be ashame is the babies that will die due to our adamance that they are more deadly. Personally a low grade fever for a day or an inflammed shot site is a lot better thatn a life with polio or a dead 3 year old from measles.
This said my little brother had a reaction to the OLD DTP which is now DTAP and they can break the shot and take out one of the doses that couses fevers.
Also statiscally, the risk of death or serious reaction to vaccincations is lower than that if the same risk factors for getting those same illnesses and drowning in children.
But it is a personal decsion.
Vaccinations are very inflammatory subjects and I personally am a big fan for children without known risk factors and weakened medical conditions. Children w/o vaccinations are at risk for harming others and have in several instances in the past passed along deadly illness to babies and the elderly that have resulted in death: whooping cough and measles are two really risky ones.
I just registered my 4 year old son for prek next year and they said that as long as you have a note from the doctor stating that you don't the vaccine then they exempt it.
I just took my son for his 5 year old well check, his pediatrician stated that they are seeing more and more outbreaks of chicken pox and are recommending the booster. He also stated that they like to give it to children around age 5 but can wait until age 7. He also said this is just something they are suggesting to parents but is not required. You could call the school to see if it is required then make a decision. Good luck!!
I'm with you on thinking the cp vaccine is unnecessary. I would much rather have my child HAVE the chicken pox, spend a week itching and recover than risk the problems that can come from vaccinations. My son (now 5) had all of the "required" shots as a baby. He suffered from extreme abdominal pain until he was over 3 years old - we will never know if that was a result from a vaccine, something that happened at birth, something he would have had anyway..... Regardless, if I have more children, they will ONLY get the shots that I feel are important and I will decide that at the time. The cp vaccine will NOT be one of them - I don't consider it a requirement to live...it is only to avoid an unpleasant experience like the chicken pox. Not worth the risk of everything else the vaccine could bring, if you ask me!
No shot is *ever* required. You have the option of either submitting a vaccine record or submitting an exemption form.
Hi S. yes I have 4 kids three in schoo; and they had to have their 2nd booster for the chicken pox. I will say it should be a personal choice for your child to have their shots. But all my kids have had their vaccinations. I think people who dont get their kids shots are putting the risk of bringing back diseases that we havent seen in years. My friends daughter is 11 months old and her doctors office refused to see the baby anymore because she wouldnt have her child vaccinated. She has no shots yet. She tries to keep her away from large crowds because she has to worry if she gets sick . I wish you luck
