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Short answer: No, pox parties are NOT safer than vaccines.

This was asked at the Parenting StackExchange. Here is my answer from that:

PROS of VACCINES:

• The vaccine is administered in a doctor's office. Understand that NOTHING is 100% safe (even breathing), so should there be any reactions, you will be with a doctor.
• The patient that gets the vaccine will most likely not suffer from the disease, and the numerous possible side effects (scarring, pneumonia, liver damage, brain damage, death).
• A vaccinated individual contributes to Herd Immunity without going through a contagious stage, thereby offering protection to individuals who are immune-compromised, or may be unable to get the vaccine.
• The rate of SERIOUS complications with a vaccine are about 1 in 1,000,000 (and keep in mind, the majority of these complications are non-permanent treatable reactions such as anaphalaxis if in the presence of a doctor). Other complications appear at about a rate of 1 in 100,000. The complications from the disease itself are about 1 in 10,000 for chicken pox (and depending on the classification, as high as 1 in 50).
• The economic impact is lessened by a vaccine (a good counter argument to the "Big Pharma" lie... In general, a vaccine nets any company much, much LESS than treating someone with the same disease).

CONS of VACCINES:

• None beyond those listed above that have any scientific merit (i.e. the 1 in a million chance of a severe negative reaction). Or the minor issue of the vaccine not totally providing immunity.

PROS of POX-PARTY:

• A very high likelihood that immunity will be gained through exposure (although it should be noted that the level of immunity is the same as for a vaccine...)

CONS of POX-PARTY:

• The much higher possibility of side effects (1 in 10,000 versus 1 in a million) such as brain damage, liver damage, death
• The possibility of spreading the disease to immune-compromised or those who may not know their immunity is somehow compromised.
• Not being in the presence of a doctor during administration
• The economic impact of having to care for a sick child (staying home from work, the child missing school, the cost of additional medicines to deal with symptoms)
• You get sick!

Some good educational sites for you:

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Stanford (and I) think it's a good idea to eliminate deaths from this preventable disease.

Not sure if this link will work in this format, but here is an interesting video about opting out of vaccines in general (and the consequences): http://www.newsy.com/embed-video/9802/

The whole idea of these parties are based on the false premise that somehow natural immunity is better than a vaccine, or that vaccines are dangerous. Both of these ideas are outright false, and quite often deliberate lies spread by anti-vax pro-disease individuals.

Short answer: No, pox parties are NOT safer than vaccines.

This was asked at the Parenting StackExchange. Here is my answer from that:

PROS of VACCINES:

• The vaccine is administered in a doctor's office. Understand that NOTHING is 100% safe (even breathing), so should there be any reactions, you will be with a doctor.
• The patient that gets the vaccine will most likely not suffer from the disease, and the numerous possible side effects (scarring, pneumonia, liver damage, brain damage, death).
• A vaccinated individual contributes to Herd Immunity without going through a contagious stage, thereby offering protection to individuals who are immune-compromised, or may be unable to get the vaccine.
• The rate of SERIOUS complications with a vaccine are about 1 in 1,000,000 (and keep in mind, the majority of these complications are non-permanent treatable reactions such as anaphalaxis if in the presence of a doctor). Other complications appear at about a rate of 1 in 100,000. The complications from the disease itself are about 1 in 10,000 for chicken pox (and depending on the classification, as high as 1 in 50).
• The economic impact is lessened by a vaccine (a good counter argument to the "Big Pharma" lie... In general, a vaccine nets any company much, much LESS than treating someone with the same disease).

CONS of VACCINES:

• None beyond those listed above that have any scientific merit (i.e. the 1 in a million chance of a severe negative reaction). Or the minor issue of the vaccine not totally providing immunity.

PROS of POX-PARTY:

• A very high likelihood that immunity will be gained through exposure (although it should be noted that the level of immunity is the same as for a vaccine...)

CONS of POX-PARTY:

• The much higher possibility of side effects (1 in 10,000 versus 1 in a million) such as brain damage, liver damage, death
• The possibility of spreading the disease to immune-compromised or those who may not know their immunity is somehow compromised.
• Not being in the presence of a doctor during administration
• The economic impact of having to care for a sick child (staying home from work, the child missing school, the cost of additional medicines to deal with symptoms)
• You get sick!

Some good educational sites for you:

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Stanford (and I) think it's a good idea to eliminate deaths from this preventable disease.

Not sure if this link will work in this format, but here is an interesting video about opting out of vaccines in general (and the consequences): http://www.newsy.com/embed-video/9802/

The whole idea of these parties are based on the false premise that somehow natural immunity is better than a vaccine, or that vaccines are dangerous. Both of these ideas are outright false, and quite often deliberate lies spread by anti-vax pro-disease individuals.

Short answer: No, pox parties are NOT safer than vaccines.

This was asked at the Parenting StackExchange. Here is my answer from that:

PROS of VACCINES:

• The vaccine is administered in a doctor's office. Understand that NOTHING is 100% safe (even breathing), so should there be any reactions, you will be with a doctor.
• The patient that gets the vaccine will most likely not suffer from the disease, and the numerous possible side effects (scarring, pneumonia, liver damage, brain damage, death).
• A vaccinated individual contributes to Herd Immunity, thereby offering protection to individuals who are immune-compromised, or may be unable to get the vaccine.
• The rate of SERIOUS complications with a vaccine are about 1 in 1,000,000 (and keep in mind, the majority of these complications are non-permanent treatable reactions such as anaphalaxis). Other complications appear at about a rate of 1 in 100,000. The complications from the disease itself are about 1 in 10,000 for chicken pox (and depending on the classification, as high as 1 in 50).
• The economic impact is lessened by a vaccine (a good counter argument to the "Big Pharma" lie... In general, a vaccine nets any company much, much LESS than treating someone with the same disease).

CONS of VACCINES:

• None beyond those listed above that have any scientific merit (i.e. the 1 in a million chance of a severe negative reaction). Or the non-issue of the vaccine not totally providing immunity.

PROS of POX-PARTY:

• A very high likelihood that immunity will be gained through exposure (although it should be noted that the level of immunity is the same as for a vaccine...)

CONS of POX-PARTY:

• The much higher possibility of side effects (1 in 10,000 versus 1 in a million) such as brain damage, liver damage, death
• The possibility of spreading the disease to immune-compromised or those who may not know their immunity is somehow compromised.
• Not being in the presence of a doctor during administration
• The economic impact of having to care for a sick child (staying home from work, the child missing school, the cost of additional medicines to deal with symptoms)
• You get sick!

Some good educational sites for you:

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Stanford (and I) think it's a good idea to eliminate deaths from this preventable disease.

Not sure if this link will work in this format, but here is an interesting video about opting out of vaccines in general (and the consequences): http://www.newsy.com/embed-video/9802/

The whole idea of these parties are based on the false premise that somehow natural immunity is better than a vaccine, or that vaccines are dangerous. Both of these ideas are outright false, and quite often deliberate lies spread by anti-vax pro-disease individuals.

Short answer: No, pox parties are NOT safer than vaccines.

This was asked at the Parenting StackExchange. Here is my answer from that:

PROS of VACCINES:

• The vaccine is administered in a doctor's office. Understand that NOTHING is 100% safe (even breathing), so should there be any reactions, you will be with a doctor.
• The patient that gets the vaccine will most likely not suffer from the disease, and the numerous possible side effects (scarring, pneumonia, liver damage, brain damage, death).
• A vaccinated individual contributes to Herd Immunity without going through a contagious stage, thereby offering protection to individuals who are immune-compromised, or may be unable to get the vaccine.
• The rate of SERIOUS complications with a vaccine are about 1 in 1,000,000 (and keep in mind, the majority of these complications are non-permanent treatable reactions such as anaphalaxis if in the presence of a doctor). Other complications appear at about a rate of 1 in 100,000. The complications from the disease itself are about 1 in 10,000 for chicken pox (and depending on the classification, as high as 1 in 50).
• The economic impact is lessened by a vaccine (a good counter argument to the "Big Pharma" lie... In general, a vaccine nets any company much, much LESS than treating someone with the same disease).

CONS of VACCINES:

• None beyond those listed above that have any scientific merit (i.e. the 1 in a million chance of a severe negative reaction). Or the minor issue of the vaccine not totally providing immunity.

PROS of POX-PARTY:

• A very high likelihood that immunity will be gained through exposure (although it should be noted that the level of immunity is the same as for a vaccine...)

CONS of POX-PARTY:

• The much higher possibility of side effects (1 in 10,000 versus 1 in a million) such as brain damage, liver damage, death
• The possibility of spreading the disease to immune-compromised or those who may not know their immunity is somehow compromised.
• Not being in the presence of a doctor during administration
• The economic impact of having to care for a sick child (staying home from work, the child missing school, the cost of additional medicines to deal with symptoms)
• You get sick!

Some good educational sites for you:

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Stanford (and I) think it's a good idea to eliminate deaths from this preventable disease.

Not sure if this link will work in this format, but here is an interesting video about opting out of vaccines in general (and the consequences): http://www.newsy.com/embed-video/9802/

The whole idea of these parties are based on the false premise that somehow natural immunity is better than a vaccine, or that vaccines are dangerous. Both of these ideas are outright false, and quite often deliberate lies spread by anti-vax pro-disease individuals.

Short answer: No, pox parties are NOT safer than vaccines.

This was asked at the Parenting StackExchange. Here is my answer from that:

PROS of VACCINES:

• The vaccine is administered in a doctor's office. Understand that NOTHING is 100% safe (even breathing), so should there be any reactions, you will be with a doctor.
• The patient that gets the vaccine will most likely not suffer from the disease, and the numerous possible side effects (scarring, pneumonia, liver damage, brain damage, death).
• A vaccinated individual contributes to Herd Immunity, thereby offering protection to individuals who are immune-compromised, or may be unable to get the vaccine.
• The rate of SERIOUS complications with a vaccine are about 1 in 1,000,000 (and keep in mind, the majority of these complications are non-permanent treatable reactions such as anaphalaxis). Other complications appear at about a rate of 1 in 100,000. The complications from the disease itself are about 1 in 10,000 for chicken pox.
• The economic impact is lessened by a vaccine (a good counter argument to the "Big Pharma" lie... In general, a vaccine nets any company much, much LESS than treating someone with the same disease).

CONS of VACCINES:

• None beyond those listed above that have any scientific merit (i.e. the 1 in a million chance of a negative reaction). Or the non-issue of the vaccine not totally providing immunity.

PROS of POX-PARTY:

• A very high likelihood that immunity will be gained through exposure (although it should be noted that the level of immunity is the same as for a vaccine...)

CONS of POX-PARTY:

• The much higher possibility of side effects (1 in 10,000 versus 1 in a million) such as brain damage, liver damage, death
• The possibility of spreading the disease to immune-compromised or those who may not know their immunity is somehow compromised.
• Not being in the presence of a doctor during administration
• The economic impact of having to care for a sick child (staying home from work, the child missing school, the cost of additional medicines to deal with symptoms)
• You get sick!

Some good educational sites for you:

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Stanford (and I) think it's a good idea to eliminate deaths from this preventable disease.

Not sure if this link will work in this format, but here is an interesting video about opting out of vaccines in general: http://www.newsy.com/embed-video/9802/

The whole idea of these parties are based on the false premise that somehow natural immunity is better than a vaccine, or that vaccines are dangerous. Both of these ideas are outright false, and quite often deliberate lies spread by anti-vax pro-disease individuals.

Short answer: No, pox parties are NOT safer than vaccines.

This was asked at the Parenting StackExchange. Here is my answer from that:

PROS of VACCINES:

• The vaccine is administered in a doctor's office. Understand that NOTHING is 100% safe (even breathing), so should there be any reactions, you will be with a doctor.
• The patient that gets the vaccine will most likely not suffer from the disease, and the numerous possible side effects (scarring, pneumonia, liver damage, brain damage, death).
• A vaccinated individual contributes to Herd Immunity, thereby offering protection to individuals who are immune-compromised, or may be unable to get the vaccine.
• The rate of SERIOUS complications with a vaccine are about 1 in 1,000,000 (and keep in mind, the majority of these complications are non-permanent treatable reactions such as anaphalaxis). Other complications appear at about a rate of 1 in 100,000. The complications from the disease itself are about 1 in 10,000 for chicken pox (and depending on the classification, as high as 1 in 50).
• The economic impact is lessened by a vaccine (a good counter argument to the "Big Pharma" lie... In general, a vaccine nets any company much, much LESS than treating someone with the same disease).

CONS of VACCINES:

• None beyond those listed above that have any scientific merit (i.e. the 1 in a million chance of a severe negative reaction). Or the non-issue of the vaccine not totally providing immunity.

PROS of POX-PARTY:

• A very high likelihood that immunity will be gained through exposure (although it should be noted that the level of immunity is the same as for a vaccine...)

CONS of POX-PARTY:

• The much higher possibility of side effects (1 in 10,000 versus 1 in a million) such as brain damage, liver damage, death
• The possibility of spreading the disease to immune-compromised or those who may not know their immunity is somehow compromised.
• Not being in the presence of a doctor during administration
• The economic impact of having to care for a sick child (staying home from work, the child missing school, the cost of additional medicines to deal with symptoms)
• You get sick!

Some good educational sites for you:

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Stanford (and I) think it's a good idea to eliminate deaths from this preventable disease.

Not sure if this link will work in this format, but here is an interesting video about opting out of vaccines in general (and the consequences): http://www.newsy.com/embed-video/9802/

The whole idea of these parties are based on the false premise that somehow natural immunity is better than a vaccine, or that vaccines are dangerous. Both of these ideas are outright false, and quite often deliberate lies spread by anti-vax pro-disease individuals.