Is there evidence with older viruses and vaccines that the vaccine protects better than infection?

In the case of chicken pox, they say that if you have had the virus you are more susceptible to shingles later in life. They don’t say that if you had the the vaccine, you are more susceptible. So at least in this case I feel having had the vaccine was a better option. I didn’t have the vaccine, I had chicken pox, so I’ve had the shingle vaccine.

COVID-19 is a virus like the common cold which you can be reinfected.

The reinfection is less severe partly because the virus has mutated.

Here’s a Yale paper on variants !

I think Covid has become more analogous to the flu in that the virus is mutating so we will continue to need vaccinations or boosters regularly to deal with the different variants.

I’m not focused on covid per se, it’s more a vaccine question. I’m looking for a general pattern.

Regarding chicken pox, you don’t get chicken pox again you get shingles, as @chyna pointed out, with a few exceptions. It’s very rare, but some people get chicken pox twice, especially if they had chicken pox as an infant they might not get the immunity. So, I’m not talking about shingles, but rather the immunity from chicken pox vs the vaccine. I know some people vaccinated for CP do get shingles, but I don’t know how it compares to people who actually had the infection, that’s a good question.

The first groups of CP vaccine kids are just starting to get old enough to really compare probably.

I think chicken pox is maybe different from some others because the virus stays in your body. I haven’t heard much about people getting recurrences of measles or mumps among those who had it before the MMR vaccine but as you say the first group with the vaccines is probably just coming to maturity.

@ianbb Agreed. I should have put CP in as an example. MM and R are a better example. Pertussis, and I wonder about polio too.

Hepatitis i don’t know if you have Hep A if you can never get it again?

I think that, looking back, a lot of the vaccines that came around were done because of the dangers of having the disease. Getting polio could be a game changer for the rest of your life. Getting chicken pox, not so much. I remember people used to take their kids over to a house where a child had chicken pox so their kids could get it. It was cheaper than a vaccine and worked just as well.

@seawulf575 There are still chicken pox parties. They would have their children get it because getting it as an adult was more dangerous. People do die from chicken pox (a friend of mine had a patient in his 30’s die) but it is less likely than some of the other diseases, that’s true. I think the UK still doesn’t vaccinate for chicken pox and there are doctors and families who don’t agree with that decision there. Pediatricians who see severe cases think it’s a horrible decision.

Science isn’t great at treating viruses, so being vaccinated is a much better choice in most instances.

I thought that chicken pox parties are now considered a mistake and not done any more since there is the vaccine. Getting chicken pox is not a good idea as it increases the risk of getting shingles as an adult. Besides chicken pox can be very serious.

@janbb Anti-vax people don’t care what the advice is from medical professionals and scientists.

In the UK where they don’t vaccinate for chicken pox I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people still encourage behaviors that get children purposely infected, or are relieved to “get it over with.”

Is it the chicken pox or the mumps that are dangerous for boys going through puberty? Either one is not a fun disease.

@janbb I googled to see if the UK had changed their policy regarding the vaccine, I hadn’t looked at in a few years. Here’s what I found. https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/analysis/uk-chickenpox-vaccination/ Keep in mind the decision not to vaccinate for chicken pox (with some exceptions) was a medical one. It’s an NHS policy. Medical and financial. I think they should vaccinate.

@chyna Mumps.