Letter

Shingles protection

Dear HIP

I would like to clarify the connection between chickenpox and shingles (Chickenpox Parties in HIP 240). Shingles occurs in people who have previously been exposed to varicella, which causes chickenpox. If you have chickenpox, the varicella virus can stay in the body in an inactive state: if it is reactivated in adulthood, often through the immune system being weakened, it causes shingles.

It is therefore not the case that immunity to varicella (from catching chickenpox) protects against shingles, as claimed in the fourth paragraph of your article.

Paul Beaney-Gainford

from our website

Climate solutions

All Rise (in HIP 239) was a really interesting article, thank you. Good to see that decisions are being made with climate change in mind, although the caveat is always ‘if we can afford’ the mitigation and, looking at the current council’s financial situation, sadly the answer is ‘not really’.

I firmly believe that nature-based solutions are vital at this point. Further defences will inevitably become insufficient, whereas flood plains and so on dissipate wave energy and create habitats.

Jane Ripley

We would love to hear from you.

letters@hastingsindependentpress.co.uk
facebook.com/hastingsindependent
instagram.com/hastingsindependent

Please be aware we may need to edit letters for reasons of space and we will only withhold names if this is necessary for the protection of the writer.