is this a regional/country thing? I'm 30 and I never got chickenpox vaxx, and I ...

mckn1ght · 2025-12-05T20:58:43 1764968323

Apparently, while it is currently available to certain people in the UK, the chickenpox will only become generally available to children starting next year: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/free-chickenpox-vaccinati...

_dain_ · 2025-12-05T21:46:26 1764971186

britain is a developing country

AndrewDucker · 2025-12-05T20:40:45 1764967245

NHS has been refusing to vaccinate against chickenpox for many years. Finally changed its mind in the last year or two.

(Got both of my kids (5&7) vaccinated privately. Don't regret it at all.)

_dain_ · 2025-12-05T20:46:11 1764967571

>NHS has been refusing to vaccinate against chickenpox for many years.

what the fuck. why?

god damn I hate rNHS national cult. better get myself vaxxed to undo this idiocy.

AndrewDucker · 2025-12-05T20:53:28 1764968008

I believe the worry was twofold:

1) That people who couldn't be vaccinated would get the virus later in life (because it would be less common), when it's a much more serious illness.

2) That there was a protective effect against shingles from having people regularly encounter the disease by encountering children with chicken pox.

But it turns out that the latter isn't actually an issue.

_dain_ · 2025-12-05T21:48:28 1764971308

wtfff

are there more vaccines they're hiding from us?

robocat · 2025-12-06T04:05:10 1764993910

I think lots of kids in the USA got the MMRV vaccination when very young. MMRV stands for: • Measles • Mumps • Rubella • Varicella (Chickenpox). Apparently some places do the Varicella vaccine separately (VARIVAX?).

Over the last few years we have been discovering many diseases are secondary complications from viral infections, such as the linked study, or Multiple Sclerosis due to Epstein-Barr virus.

Perhaps that has rebalanced the cost/benefit analysis of some vaccines?

A childhood vaccine that prevents a percentage of dementia cases would be amazing!

I caught chickenpox as an young adult in the US. Recently paid NZ$700 to have shingles vaccination privately (NZ provides it free at 65; however I know many people that have had a hideous time dealing with shingles and I'd like to avoid that).