Sister has two girls. They're about to go for a vacation to Greece.

Older girl is covid vaccinated (not sure about boosted) and tested positive for Covid a few days ago. This is her second Covid. the first time was in early 2021 when she got covid in between the vaccine doses.

She still want to go to Greece, the quarantine period will end just the day they're supposed to leave.

meanwhile the younger girl was exposed to Chickenpox a few days ago and she is not vaccinated against Chickenpox. Thanks god they are all vaccinated against Covid. Turns out my sister was a little antivaxer, but she gave in regarding Covid vaccines. The girls are probably behind the schedule with the other vaccines.

Anyway, Sister says that if the younger girl gets Chickenpox, it will be after they come back from Greece.

I think my sister is very irresponsible to go around with 2 girls spreading infections around, but what can I do to stop her?

EDIT: forgot to mention, she had advanced scientific degrees and is very active in academic circles. How can be so irresponsible with vaccines makes no sense.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2022 09:13AM by gadje.

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gadje
I think my sister is very irresponsible...

Incubation for Chickenpox is 14 days, and become contagious 2-3 days before outbreak. So it would be 11 days from exposure. Depending on the return window, she could expose everyone on the flight back.

Your sister is extremely irresponsible.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

I can think of no advice on what to say to your sister. I guess you can just try to tell her as much factual information as possible and hope for the best (though that sounds like a long shot). I'm sorry your sister is so irresponsible, but that you can't convince her to change is not on you if you aren't successful.

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e pluribus unum

No flight, they are in Europe and drive to Greece and back.

My best suggestion is to recommend that she should vaccinate BOTH girls against chickenpox NOW. This is a common recommendation for unvaccinated people exposed to chickenpox. If the younger girl has picked up the virus, this will help to mitigate the symptoms, and it will also protect the older girl from her sister's infection. I don't think she can get antivirals until she shows the rash.

One thing about chickenpox virus is that it is never cleared after an infection. It remains dormant in the nervous system until the naturally induced immunity wanes with age. Re-emergence can cause shingles later in life, which can be painful and debilitating in the best cases, and truly nasty in the worst cases.

Not sure what will convince your sister though, except to say that anger from you will probably cause her to dig in.

One possible argument is that her daughter's risk/benefit profile has changed now that she's been exposed. Since the virus can be passed by a coughing/sneezing person with the virus, her risk for chicken pox/shingles is now very real and not just theoretical. Any potential risk from the vaccine is now outweighed by the high likelihood of the disease.

Can she be convinced to mask the family? She really should.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2022 01:24PM by Janit.

She keeps the older girl isolated (COVID) but she cannot keep the younger one isolated. Also the parents and older girl had chickenpox so they should be immune now.

No point in arguing with her. She has many friends who are doctors or other medical professionals. If she wants advice, she knows where to get it. Unfortunately a lot of people in her circles get their info from Facebook.

The main issue with anti-vaccine sentiment is people will believe hearsay and anecdotal info on social media rather than believing health care professionals. I politely point them toward medical pros and leave the rest to them. A particular prominent political figure got booed for recommending vaccination, doubt any of the rest of us will fare any better.

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Ways to improve web conference image and sound quality. [forums.macresource.com]

This is anecdotal but upsetting. I worked with a guy whose partner had shingles and the pain has lasted for years even though the shingles are gone. Too scary to contemplate and one more reason to try to avoid chicken pox.

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$tevie
This is anecdotal but upsetting. I worked with a guy whose partner had shingles and the pain has lasted for years even though the shingles are gone. Too scary to contemplate and one more reason to try to avoid chicken pox.

And get the Shingles vaccination

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

" but what can I do to stop her?"

Call the LOCAL Health Authority. Play 20 questions. It might be necessary to "rat her out" IF she continues to act contrary to current best medical advice. In today's litigious society, recklessness could put her on the wrong end of a bad lawsuit and, possibly make her the target of legal actions.

Would YOU be able to deal with the consequences should people die, knowing that you could have made a difference?

I am in US, she is in Eastern Europe. They gave up all COVID restrictions over there long ago. Think Florida.

Being that she is in Europe, using private transport, there really isn't much you can do. It would be like stopping someone from driving between Chicago and Indianapolis. Even if you contacted the Greek authorities, they are highly unlikely to do anything to find a single car. There are no more passport or border crossing procedures in the EU.

It is up to her to do what is right, and that doesn't sound likely.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

Quote
$tevie
This is anecdotal but upsetting. I worked with a guy whose partner had shingles and the pain has lasted for years even though the shingles are gone. Too scary to contemplate and one more reason to try to avoid chicken pox.

[www.mayoclinic.org]

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Complications from shingles can include:

Postherpetic neuralgia. For some people, shingles pain continues long after the blisters have cleared. This condition is known as postherpetic neuralgia, and it occurs when damaged nerve fibers send confused and exaggerated messages of pain from your skin to your brain.

Vision loss. Shingles in or around an eye (ophthalmic shingles) can cause painful eye infections that may result in vision loss.

Neurological problems. Depending on which nerves are affected, shingles can cause an inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), facial paralysis, or hearing or balance problems.

Skin infections. If shingles blisters aren't properly treated, bacterial skin infections may develop.

I’m glad my children were vaccinated for chicken pox and I’m disappointed that I got it before the vaccination was available

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