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Date: 6/7/2018
EAST LONGMEADOW – There’s a new shingles vaccine in town, and even if you had Zostavax – the original shot recommended since 2006 –the medical community is suggesting that you get this one, too.
Nicole Gee, pharmacy manager for the Walgreens at the X in Springfield, visited the Pleasant View Senior Center in late May to explain the causes of shingles, the benefits of the recently approved vaccine called Shingrix, and to encourage attendees to consider getting the new shot.
The painful, blistering rash know as shingles, Gee explained, is caused by the same virus that produces chickenpox in children.
“Both are caused by the varicella-zoster virus,” she explained. “If you ever had the chickenpox as a child, you can get shingles as an adult.”
Factors that can make an individual at risk for a shingles outbreak include having had chickenpox as a child, being older than 50, having a suppressed immune system, being on chemotherapy or steroids or simply being run down.
And though the rash itself may clear up in two-to-four weeks, Gee said for 20 percent of Shingles patients, the accompanying nerve pain – known as postherpetic neuralgia – can linger for a year or longer.
Treating that pain, Gee said, can be expensive. The cost for an individual with regular health insurance runs about $5,000 per year, she said. For patients on Medicare, the cost is about $2,600, for those on Medicaid, treatment runs about $9,000.
Beyond the potential for lingering, debilitating pain, Gee said a bout of shingles has the potential to leave individuals with scarring, changes in balance, facial paralysis, and vision or hearing issues if the rash occurs near an eye or ear. And though most who develop shingles only have to deal with the blisters and pain once, there are individuals who experience a recurrence of the condition.
The original shingles vaccine – the live virus Zostavax – was “50 to 60 percent effective, over average,” Gee said, with the highest effectiveness occurring in people 50 to 59 years of age (younger than the recommended age of 60 for the initial dose), and the lowest occurring in people over age 70. Zostavax, she noted, was also found to require a booster shot about four years after the initial dose.
The new vaccine, Shingrix, “is over 90 percent effective in all age groups,” from 50 year olds to those over the age of 80, Gee said, adding that the protection is predicted to last nine years. Shingrix was only FDA approved in March, but had been studied in clinical trials for many years prior to its release for the general public, Gee noted.
And though neither vaccine is a 100 percent guarantee an individual will not develop shingles, Gee said Shingrix is considered so effective “it is recommended for everyone 50 years of age and older.
“You should not get shingles at all [with Shingrix],” Gee added. “And if you do, it will be a mild case.”
Shingrix is administered in two doses, with the second shot required two to six months after the initial dose. Gee said the cost of each shot is $140, which is covered at least in part by most insurance plans and Medicare Part D. The most common side effect is arm soreness or stiffness at the site of the injection.
“You do not need a prescription [for Shingrix],” Gee said. “You can go into any pharmacy in Massachusetts and a pharmacist can administer it.”
Because of the initial popularity of Shingrix, Gee did suggest checking with your local pharmacy to insure it has a supply of Shingrix on hand before stopping in to get the shot.