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quats5 t1_j5v4x5s wrote

Reply to comment by FelisCantabrigiensis in What determines whether we can create a vaccine for an illness or not? by ShelfordPrefect

I remember looking around about a decade ago and realizing that I hadn’t heard about chickenpox in a while.

I had a very light case when I was so young that I don’t remember it, so I’ve always known my immunity is likely negligible and that I need to be wary and stay clear of people who have it. It’s much more dangerous in adults.

….and then I realized I hadn’t had a mental alert of caution! Caution! Chickenpox! in… years.

So I Google and… oh. They made a vaccine for it in the 90’s, and it’s standard now. And practically nobody gets chickenpox any more because of this.

Nice.

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farrenkm t1_j5w9k8d wrote

I started working for a local hospital system around the turn of the century. They asked if I was up-to-date on my vaccines, and I said yes. Brought in the hep B documentation and everything.

Then they asked: have you ever had chicken pox? Dunno. Not that I'm aware of. They drew a titre and -- nope, no antibodies. They gave me the vaccine late 20's, early 30's. My next question, that I'll ask my MD, is if I need to worry about shingles. If I never had chicken pox, if I had the vaccine, should that be protection enough so I don't need to worry about it? My first reaction is "yes, that's true."

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NatAttack3000 t1_j5wdaph wrote

I had the chickenpox vaccine at about 24 and got chickenpox at 31, so you definitely still have a risk of getting chicken pox and possibly shingles though far less than if you didn't get vaccinated

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farrenkm t1_j5wkio1 wrote

Thank you. I thought that might be the case, so I was going to talk to my MD at my next physical. Reaching the age where this is a consideration . . .

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auraseer t1_j5z4nq1 wrote

CDC still recommends you get the shingles vaccine when you turn 50. We don't yet have proof that the chicken pox vaccine protects for your whole lifespan. It hasn't been around long enough to be sure, and we know that some kinds of immunity wane as the years pass.

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farrenkm t1_j6153ue wrote

Thanks for the response. Getting the vaccine doesn't bother me, I just didn't know if it was still a concern without having had chicken pox proper. That age isn't far off, so it's information I'll need.

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