Chicken pox vaccine locally?

[midivydale]

Please anyone?

[goldilocks]

GP

[Bellenden Belle]

South London Travel Clinic just past Camberwell.

[midivydale]

Goldilocks, which GP? Thanks BB will check them

[Saffron]

We used SLTC. They're open on the weekend, and price was fairly standard. xx

[Sonners]

Health Hub in Herne Hill were very good for us for CP vaccine (and for Men B)

[Strawbs]

We had ours done at citydoc in new cross x

[Gooders79]

We had it done at herne hill health hub and didn't have a great experience.

[Saffron]

I've also heard a couple people state that they didn't have a great experience with SLTC, (though it was fine for us), but mostly I've heard good stuff about SLTC. Don't know anything about HH personally.

I think when you go to private clinics, it can be a bit hit-or-miss because it's not your regular physician, i.e. you're only there for a one-off.

You can always go to a different private clinic to finish a course of imms if you don't gel with the clinic that started the jabs for you... not like being tied to your NHS GP's practice by a chance of postcode!

The CP imm is definitely worth doing, IMHO. Also worth noting that the NHS has a rolling program for the shingles vaccine for elderly persons in particular age categories: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/shingles-vaccination.aspx. Although, if you don't qualify for the NHS shingles jab but feel you might benefit from it, you can also have it done privately. xx

[midivydale]

Thanks everyone, we are booked for SLTC next week so fingers crossed all will be well. X

[goldilocks]

We just asked our gp, they wrote a private prescription and then we paid the pharmacy. Pharmacy delivered to surgery, surgery did vaccine. Sorry for delay in replying - see it might be too late now anyway

[devsdev]

Hijacking - sorry. But wondering if anyone (Saffron?!) can clarify - am I OK leaving a longer gap than 8 weeks between the two chickenpox vaccines? In the US it seems they leave a couple or more years between shots. Reason is I want to get my kids the second Men B shot but not at the same time as the chickenpox booster. The first round when they had both shots at the same time was just too much for them - both were out of sorts for days.

Alternate view is to just deal and get it over with I guess...

[Saffron]

I respect that for many reasons some families don't choose this immunisation. Sadly I've met many parents who would have had their children vaccinated but didn't know it was an option. Personally, I had a very bad reaction to CP infection when I was ~8. So it's not always true that younger children have a more mild reaction. Also, there is a putative genetic link in severity. If you had severe CP, your children are more likely to suffer a bad response to infection. My mother counted ~100+ blisters on my face, then gave up counting! I still have scars.

Yes, it's fine to leave longer between CP jabs. Eight weeks is the typical minimum gap. The US has a slightly different imms schedule, so they schedule the booster differently. Most children will have very high immunity after the first jab. The second is a booster to improve immunological cover. In between the two jabs, you're susceptible to breakthrough infection (ie, infection but mild/moderated). So in areas where the overall immunisation rate is low, you're better not to leave too long a gap. I think we had 6+ months gap for Little Saff because I kept having to reschedule the appointment for various reasons!

xx

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=5545836&page=1

[midivydale]

Looks like we might be too late, spotted what could be CP spots this evening. What are the odds of that! Sigh, will have to see how it goes.

[Saffron]

Oh dear, hopefully not! But if it is CP, at least the Forum is a wealth of knowledge on treatment too. :) xx

[devsdev]

Thanks Saffron! And I hope it isn't CP midivydale...good luck!

[midivydale]

Thanks everyone, turns out it wasnt chicken pox, so ds had his jab this morning. A really good experience so perhaps the troubles from a couple of years back are sorted? We had a lovely doctor, all on time, a sticker:) and it was ?68.00 which was a good price too.

A very good experience all around.

[chickensoup]

Hello,

I wonder if anyone can help me with a question.

I had my two immunised with the chicken pox vaccine on Monday (5yrs & 4yrs). My sister said to me today that the immunity from the vaccine doesn't last into adulthood (and there can be higher risks to catching CP as an adult).

She also said that the reason significantly more adults catch shingles in the US and Austraila is because of the vaccine.

I have googled but can't find any info and am now really worried I have done something which may harm them in later life by protecting them now!

Any words of wisdom very gratefully recieved xx

[Saffron]

There is now a shingles vaccine and adults can also receive the CP vaccine (if they have never had CP in childhood), so please can you post a link to her info? Otherwise, I think her info may be at best misinterpreted, at worst just plain wrong.

CP immunisation is thought to last ~15-20+ years, then decline slowly. Therefore, re-immunisation may be necessary in the teens or early twenties, similar to other vaccines. Data is still being accumulated regarding this aspect of immunity.

This is an interesting site: http://www.vzvfoundation.org/chickenq&a.html

[chickensoup]

Thank you Saffron. I think she was just plain wrong!!

I did have a little panic though, it's hard to know what to do for the best sometimes.

Thank you for the reassurance, I will look at your link with interest.

Much appreciated xx

[Saffron]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2014/may/15/real-reason-british-public-chickenpox-vaccine-shingles

[devsdev]

Glad this has been revived - a quick question about the chickenpox vaccine...my two had one jab last year but then for various reasons including sickness, holiday, poor planning on my part etc we never had the second. In the US the gap between injections is 3 or so years I believe and in other countries I know it's at least a year. Anyone have thoughts/views on whether I should get them the 2nd shot now or wait a bit? Thanks!

[midivydale]

We had a long delay between first and second jab, I think it was about 6 mnths. I recall the receptionist insistinng that it was not worth having the second jab as it would not be efficient but I remember reading saffron having been through similar and written about it (not sure if on this or another thread). Anyway, I insisted on an appointment and the doctor was happy enough to administer second dose despite a long gap between the two. My son has been in contact with the virus several times (friends as well as nursery) and touch wood all seems to be ok.

Obviously my post is purely anecdotal bit hopefully saffron will be along soon with her knowledge:)

[etta166]

The reason for the short gap here is it is the minimum recommended gap, so it's the fastest way to ensure that you get the maximum possible coverage. In Southwark, we also have our MMR and booster very close together, to combat outbreaks of measles that have been happening since 2000. This strategy gets the population vaccination coverage to maximum the fastest.

You can delay having the booster. As people have commented, some countries wait up to 3 years. It will still be effective. It would probably be effective for a very long time after that too (see below, for information comparing a 3 month and a 4-6 year gap). But, you risk not being very immune (or even not immune at all) until the second injection. However, the chickenpox vaccine is very effective with just one dose.

We have boosters for 2 main reasons. The first is to boost, or enhance, the reaction from the first injection. The second is to make sure you are actually immune. Some vaccines only make 80-90% of people immune in any given administration, so if you have it twice, there's a up to a 99% chance of immunity. In chickenpox it does both, but mostly it is for the first reason.

In summary, definitely have the 2nd injection, even after a number of years. Ask the doctor if a third dose would be advised if it has been over 10 years since the first one.

The link and an extract... https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5604a1.htm

"persistence of antibody in children after 1 dose of single-antigen varicella vaccine was demonstrated in both short- and long-term follow-up studies. In a clinical study, the rate of antibody persistence detected by gpELISA was nearly 100% after 9 years of follow-up for 277 children (85). Another study demonstrated that although antibody titers (detected by FAMA) might decline 12--24 months after vaccination, the median titer did not change after 1--4 years and even rose after 10 years (86). In Japan, VZV antibodies were present in 37 (97%) of 38 children who received varicella vaccine 7--10 years earlier (with titers comparable to those of 29 children who had had natural varicella infection within the previous 10 years) (87) and in 100% of 25 children when followed for as long as 20 years (i.e., antibody levels were higher than those observed 10 years earlier) (88). Interpretation of long-term studies is complicated by at least two factors. First, asymptomatic boosting of vaccine-induced immunity by exposure to wild-type VZV is likely. Because varicella vaccine is not routinely recommended in Japan, coverage of children was estimated to be low (approximately 20%) during 1991--1993. Second, sample sizes were limited as a result of the decrease in the number of children followed-up with increasing time since vaccination.

The second dose of varicella vaccine in children produced an improved immunologic response that is correlated with improved protection. A comparative study of healthy children who received 1 or 2 doses of single-antigen varicella vaccine administered 3 months apart indicated that a second dose provided higher antibody levels as measured by the proportion of subjects with titers of >5 gpELISA units and by geometric mean titers (GMTs) and higher efficacy (85; Tables 2--4). The proportion of subjects with antibody titers of >5 gpELISA units in the 2-dose recipients was higher 6 weeks after the second dose than after the first dose (99.6% and 85.7%, respectively) and remained high at the end of the 9-year follow-up period, although the difference between the two regimens narrowed (97% and 95%, respectively). GMT 6 weeks after the second dose was substantially higher than that after a single dose (142 and 12, respectively). The difference in GMTs between the two regimens did not persist over 9 years of follow-up among subjects who seroconverted after vaccination, although GMTs in both regimens remained high by the end of the study period. However, receipt of a second dose decreased the rate of breakthrough varicella significantly (3.3-fold) and increased vaccine efficacy (p<0.001). Another study that assessed the immunogenicity of a second dose received 4--6 years after the first dose demonstrated a substantial increase in antibody levels in the first 7--10 days in the majority of those tested, indicating an anamnestic response. On the day of the second dose, GMT was 25.7, compared with 143.6 GMT 7--10 days after the second dose; 60% of recipients had at least a fourfold increase in antibody titers, and an additional 17% had at least a twofold increase (89). Three months after the second dose, GMT remained higher than on the day of second dose (119.0 and 25.7, respectively). Among children, VZV antibody levels and GMTs after 2 doses administered 4--6 years apart were comparable to those obtained when the 2 doses were administered 3 months apart."

[Saffron]

Yes, we had a really long gap between Little Saff's 2 CP jabs. I kept having to reschedule for various unrelated reasons (my own fault, nothing to do with the GPs).

It's absolutely fine to have a longer gap as etta166 noted above for CP imms. Different geographical areas schedule immunisations differently depending on local circumstances. And different immunisations have differing periods over which they're best given. For example, CP, MMR, Hep, etc are all slightly different. So perhaps the receptionist to which midivydale spoke was confusing the CP with another jab. xx