CDC recommends shingles vaccine for older adults

This wouldn't be happening if kids were still getting chicken pox!! So, what's easier--to have lifelong immunity to chicken pox and shingles through constant exposure, or to have to gets shots every five years or so for life?

Moreover, the chicken pox shot isn't really that effective (outbreaks happen due to vaccine failure all the time). This would result in girls who might be immune as children, but who might get to their childbearing years without immunity with horrible consequences for their babies in utero.

It's good that Merck has found another way to make money considering that it's been under attack lately for troubles at its vaccine manufacturing plants and with some of its new drugs. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24454079/ Remember this when you're buying the super-expensive shingles vaccine!

Beth, have you ever had shingles? I've had chicken pox AND shingles and shingles are no picnic (understatement of the year). I'm only 41 but if getting the vaccine would prevent me from getting shingles again I'd be the first in line. It was horrible enough as healthy 35 year old - it must be excrutiating for an elderly person. Google Shingles and David Letterman and see what he had to say about it - he couldn't do his show for six weeks. Unfortunately I don't think I can get the vaccine because I'm too young.

Go Merck!

In response to Beth...,

I think you misread the article. Having had chicken pox makes you vulnerable to shingles, not immune to them.

What if you never had chicken pox. do you still need the shot????

If you've never had chicken pox, then you couldn't get shingles. Older folks who have had chicken pox can get shingles because some of the virus continues to live after the pox has gone.

I prob should get the shot.

Read a bit more carefully before you spout off like that, Beth:

"Anyone who has had chicken pox -- 95 percent of the US adult population -- is vulnerable to an outbreak of shingles "

Having chicken pox in the past is the reason you get shingles, it does not make you immune. I know a co-worker in her 50's who got shingles (she had had chicken pox as a youth) and she said it was one of the most painful few months she ever endured.

Hey Beth, maybe you should do your homework before putting comment out there and looking uneducated. Shingles happens to people who already had chicken pox. Therefore, someone who has had chicken pox can then get shingles later on in life. Maybe next time you will do a little more research.

Beth needs to stop the anti-pharma rant. Note the feds are recommending this for those over 60. There are not many pharma products that they recommend and this is warrented. There was plenty of shingles and suffering when 'kids were getting chicken pox', this is well described in the literature. It is true that the vaccine only reduces your chances by about 50% in the years studied- but this is really a booster for something you are already infected with- not primary prevention. Good enough. Well done Merck!

Beth, have you ever had shingles, you seem to know so much about it? Shingles can only occur in people that have HAD chicken pox. There is no lifelong immunity to shingles other than not getting chicken pox. I have had the shingles, and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. Give me the shot every year if it will prevent me from getting this painful disease again. I still have problems with my right leg, and I am only 51!

Uhh... no. While I agree that natural immunity to chicken pox is preferable to the vaccine, you are incorrect that "this wouldn't be happening if kids were still getting chicken pox!!" Did you not read the part about people who've HAD chicken pox being susceptible to shingles? Also, the vaccine has only been around for about 25 years; why is it that people over 60 are most likely to get shingles? They never had the VZ (chicken pox) vaccine as children...

Beth, you can only get shingles if you've actually had chicken pox, so I don't think the chicken pox vaccine has anything to do with shingles. Plus, that vaccine hasn't been around very long, so most people who've had the chicken pox vaccine aren't even in their 20's yet.

"Shingles comes from the same virus that causes chicken pox. Anyone who has had chicken pox -- 95 percent of the US adult population -- is vulnerable to an outbreak of shingles because the virus can lie dormant for decades near nerve roots along the spinal cord."

This is the source for what I am saying below:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/44187.php

This is the quote of importance: "The catalog price of ZOSTAVAX is $145.35 purchased as a 10-pack of single-dose vials of lyophilized vaccine with sterile diluent and $152.50 purchased as a single-dose vial of vaccine with sterile diluent. " (lyophilized means "freeze-dried)

I am not a medical person but it sounds to me that if you had ten people to receive the vaccine it would cost about $15.00 each which seems doable. I am presuming that that is what it means when it says "as a 10-pack". The problem is that we are not having Shingles vaccine days the way we have "Flu-shot" days. Doctors are not carrying the vaccine because of the specific refrigeration requirements and the same is true of pharmacies. If the vaccine is not being purchased, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that Merck-Medco will cease to produce it. I have raised this issue with my Congress person, Mr. Tierney, but so far have not seen any concrete measure taken to address this very real problem. The vaccine might as well be on the moon if we cannot get it.

No, Beth. It is getting chicken pox that causes shingles. If you never get chicken pox, you don't get shingles because you don't have the virus dormant in your system.

Beth, try not to comment unless you know what you're talking about. "Constant exposure" to chicken pox doesn't confer lifelong immunity from shingles - it's the same virus, whether you get it from the vaccine (in weakened form) or by getting itchy red bumps all over. I should know: I've had chicken pox three times, twice before the age of 18. That still didn't prevent me from getting a nasty case of shingles!

This is in reply to Beth:

I am puzzled by your saying that "This wouldn't be happening if kids were still getting chicken pox!!" My understanding is that you only get shingles if you have had chicken pox. The virus remains in your system for life and can reactivate as shingles in later years and have very serious effects. You can lose your sight or hearing or suffer severe and debilitating pain for an extended period of time, depending upon the nerve path affected. If kids were still getting chicken pox, they would be at risk for shingles. I am in my 60's. I had chicken pox; therefore I am at risk for shingles.

I am afraid you have it backwards. It is exposure to and then contracting chicken pox that makes it possible to get shingles. As the article states: "Shingles comes from the same virus that causes chicken pox. Anyone who has had chicken pox -- 95 percent of the US adult population -- is vulnerable to an outbreak of shingles because the virus can lie dormant for decades near nerve roots along the spinal cord."

beth, can't you read? You get shingles (and I've had them) because you HAD the chicken pox. Having the chicken pox doesn't make you immure to shingles it makes you likely to get it eventually. So getting your kids chicken pox vaccinations protects against both the pox and shingles.
You know I have my issues with Western medicine and its reliance on profit-driven drugs, but vaccines are one of the more holistic and effective parts of Western medicine.

You've got it backwards. Only people who HAVE had chicken pox can get shingles.

I'm not defending Beth (see my earlier post) but here is an anecdote. Our family doctor told me that he never used to see shingles in kids before the chicken pox vaccine became available (around 10 years ago in my area) and now he has seen many cases. I believe these are kids who did not have chicken pox but had the vaccine instead and then got shingles. As with chicken pox, it was much milder than what an older person would get but still painful.

Does anyone know if the vaccine will prevent a reoccurrence of shingles?

rwc wrote "So getting your kids chicken pox vaccinations protects against both the pox and shingles. "

This is not accurate. I have known children who have been vaccinated against chicken pox and developed shingles: aged 10. I have not researched to see if there are any scientific studies to determine if the prevalence is higher in vaccinated children vs. natural disease but I can tell you it does occur. The children are given a weakened virus but they do have the varicella (chicken pox) virus in their systems after vaccination.

The vaccine will not necessarily prevent a reoccurrence of shingles. It may but it will lessen the excruciating nerve ending after effects. I have had shingles several times. As I am in my early fifties I have been told I have to wait to have the vaccine until I am 60. It is to do with immune response. My Doctor and I currently manage my shingles with Acyclovir.

Let's stop harassing Beth. Enough already!

I'm recovering from shingles - brought on by extreme stress - and it's not something I ever want to have again! Even though my derm says I may not have another shingles outbreak for 10 years or so, I say better safe than sorry.

As soon as my primary doctor will order it, I'll get the vaccine in a few months. Had I known that it existed earlier, I could possibly have saved myself over a month of pain, discomfort and a LOT MORE STRESS!

I had shingles a year and a half ago at the healthy age of 23! My pain only lasted about a month, because there is medicine that if taken in the first two to three days of the outbreak greatly reduces the outbreak and the long term effects. It was excruciatingly painful - I cannot imagine an elederly individual enduring it, let alone the lasting effects. I have strongly urged by parents (nearing 60) to get the vaccine and would strongly recommend it to everyone as soon as it is available to you. My understanding is that risk of getting shingles twice is low, but possible so I plan to get vaccinated ASAP - I never want to go through that amount of pain again especially what I am older, less healthly, and at risk of long term pain.

I think that there's an anti-vaccine hysteria now and that's for good reason. Back in the 60's when I was a kid, we got several vaccines a year. Now, babies are getting over a dozen vaccines in their first six months and to be "fully vaccinated" a child would have something like 50 doses of vaccines by the time they are six years old.

That's way too much and kids are being vaccinated for things they aren't likely to get unless they are illegal IV drug users (Hepatitis B). Then there's the whole vaccine-Autism connection which studies have had some mixed findings. I, personally, believe that Autism is a combination of more than one thing, like vaccines+overuse of antibiotics, or vaccines+heredity, or maybe vaccines+heredity+ overuse of antibiotics. It's this last one that I feel is the most likely because kids haven't changed that much, yet Autism is skyrocketing. What *has* changed? Both vaccine and antibiotic use has skyrocketed in the last 20 years.

So, I think we need to put more effort into understanding what combination of things causes Autism and also to give vaccines in more reasonable ways (not 8 different vaccines in one visit). Finally, all preservatives (used to be mercury, now frequently aluminum or other nasty things) could be eliminated from vaccines if they stopped making multi-dose vials. We always insist on single-dose vials for our kids' vaccines, of the ones that we agree to give (but we spread them out over several weeks).

Vaccines are a good thing, but we need to use our heads regarding them and a LOT more research needs to be put into Autism causes. It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to care for a severely autistic person over the course of their life. Multiply that by figures as high as 1 in 200 and you can see that research into prevention would save billions.

My question is: How do you get the vaccination if neither doctors nor pharmacists will order it because of the difficulties of refrigeration? Does anyone know?

Question:I honestly don't know whether I ever had chickenpox, just lots of measels. Is it still safe, therefore, to have the shingles vaccine just in case?

I think you all need to lay off of "Beth". From reading her post, she is the one who has done her homework. When she states that more people may be getting shingles because of the varicella vaccine, it is because adults who had chickenpox as a child are no longer being exposed to chickenpox which is a natural immune system booster. Therefore, their immunity wanes over time, much more slowly than the coveted Merck Varivax, and they can then become more susceptible to shingles. Now that Merck is making their money off of Varivax, they can now start making their money off from Zostavax. Oh yeah, it only decreases the cases by half. In the end, Merck will have a steady income stream of people lining up for their varicella/zostavax boosters every 3-7 years.

I am not going to go on a Beth rant, just want her to know that shingles just doesn't cause pain--it can kill. My husband, already immuno-compromised by cancer got shingles. His lymphoma was in remission. He was in a weakened state and shingles invaded his body. It attacked his brain, and lungs. He died in ten days. Shingles can kill and if there is an inoculation against shingles, I am getting it--actually next week I will receive my shot. So all nay-sayers should just get a life. Shingles Kills!

I got shingles when I was in sixth grade. I was not immunocompromised as far as I remember. It was not terribly painful, more of a steady ache, but it left scarring on my face and infected my eye (no permanent damage). Will I be able to get the vaccine, or is strictly for age 60 and up? I am 37, under a lot of stress and would hate to have another outbreak. (For those of you wondering it was not impetigo, my Dr. did a culture)

One of the retail health clinics will soon start offering the vaccing (Take Care) and the other(s) MinuteClinic may follow in the future.

Beth posted a comment regarding her misunderstanding of the vaccine issues. I agree, stop harrassing her.

I had shingles when I was just 18 and chicken pox as a child. Even though shingles were a MAJOR pain.....I would NEVER get an immunization to try and prevent them. I'll also NEVER have my child immunized for chicken pox. A lot of the vaccines out these days EXCEED THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S GUIDELINES FOR LEVELS OF MERCURY. Yes, everyone freaks out when someone breaks a thermometer and mercury spills, and yet we INJECT MERCURY into ourselves and our children. Smart, America, Smart.
Eat right the way God intended, take care of your body, reduce your stress, and guess what....your own immunity will take care of you.

The price is NOT $15.00. A single dose is $152.50 and you get it for $145/dose if you buy 10 doses. (My doctor said it would be abot $160 and not covered by insurance.

I didn't read all of the entries, so maybe my question was answered. Sorry!!!

Would if you don't know if you had chicken pox, and everyone who would definitively know are dead. Would if your recollection, and that of your siblings is that we never had the chicken pox. I don't think I would want to put myself at risk for shingles, since I've seen some devastating cases of long term suffering and permanent affects.

Should I get the shingles shot just to be safe? It's early and my doctor's office isn't open yet, thus I'm asking this question now.

Thanks.

Unfortunately, children who have never had the chicken pox virus but have had the vaccine can also get shingles. The vaccine is made from the virus either weakend or dead. My 8-year old has just been diagnosed with an outbreak of shingles.

I recently read that you should get the vaccine 2 yrs after having shingles - to lessen the degree of damage if shingles come back. this is for any age.

"The vaccine is pretty safe"? I would like to point out, that Zostavax can cause shingles. I was a healthy 64 year old male who received the Zostavax vaccine on 2/5/08. Ten days later, my doctor diagnosed me with "classic shingles". He put me on Valtrex for 7 days and I was still (1 month later) suffering with red spots on my (right) chest, pain in my right arm and shoulder, and severe itching. I notified Merck and my doctor also did! I read Merck's "double blind" studies, and nowhere does it simply say: this vaccine can cause you to contract shingles. I have all the documentation as well as pictures. Please caution anyone who wants to gamble with their health. This drug will eventually be pulled from the market. It is NOT SAFE.! You may never get shingles (even though you had chicken pox, but you most definitely CAN get Shingles from this vaccine.

I would like to point out, that Zostavax can cause shingles. I was a healthy 64 year old male who received the Zostavax vaccine on 2/5/08. Ten days later, my doctor diagnosed me with “classic shingles”. He put me on Valtrex for 7 days and 1 month later was still suffering with red spots on my (right) chest, severe pain in my right arm and shoulder, and severe itching. I notified Merck and my doctor also did! I read Merck’s “double blind” studies, and nowhere does it simply say: this vaccine can cause you to contract shingles. I have all the documentation as well as pictures. Please caution anyone who wants to gamble with their health. I don’t believe Merck is being as honest as they should regarding the safety of this vaccine.

Denae,

You're as big an idiot as Beth. There hasn't been any mercury in vaccines for years and when there was mercury in vaccines it was so small of a quantity it couldn't hurt anyone. You've fallen internet generated pseudoscience.

Does Zostavax lessen outbreaks of genetal herepes? If you have had herpes in the past several months,would it be wise to take the vaccine?

Denae, I realize that a lot of people are bashing vaccines right now but before you decide not to vaccinate your child, please look at the diseases these vaccines are preventing...they can cause some really awful problems- there are reasons people are living longer these days- medicine's not perfect but it has come a long way and vaccines are recommended for a reason- to prevent morbidity and mortality- things I'm sure you don't want your child to experience.

My mom can't remember if she had chicken pox. So she had the vaccine. Will this increase or decrease the chance of her getting shingles?

>

Liz,

What's the name of this medicine?

Sheila,

Here's what the CDC says at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/dis-faqs.htm

"Several medicines, acyclovir (Zovirax), valacyclovir (Valtrex), and famciclovir (Famvir), are available to treat shingles. These medications should be started as soon as possible after the rash appears and will help shorten how long the illness lasts and how severe the illness is."

Elizabeth Cooney
White Coat Notes

Does the vaccine cause shingles as in David Rand's case (7/24/08)? Is there anyone else out there who had shingles after the vaccine? I'd like to know because my doctor has recommended the vaccine for me, a 64 year old female with insurance, but I'm not sure. The most updated CDC report that I could find was dated 2006.
To everyone who has gotten the vaccine, I ask: What were the side effects?
Thanks,
Pat

Yes you should still get the shot even if you haven't had chicken pox. I have has shingles 6 times, and I am only 31. Someone can't catch shingles from me when I have an outbreak but someone who has never had chicken pox CAN get chicken pox from a person with shingles. So it can still protect you.

I don't wish it on anyone. I get them on my eyes, and face. Its extremely painful. My insurance won't cover the vaccine due to my age. Said I needed to be 60 first.

To Karen Gallagher:
Your MD can do a blood test to see if you have immunity from chicken pox in your system. If your titer is (+), then you HAVE had chicken pox.
I hope that info helps.

my poor husband had his one and only out break seven and a half year ago it covered the left front and left back torso and he still suffer from what they call post nonrogial pain we have tred so many thing from double blind study to tent unit chinine med nothing has worked our young daughter ask all the time before they hug them if that his sore side i do not wish that pain on anyone

I am 45 yrs old. I want the Shingles Vaccination. Can I get it? I know the CDC approved/recommended it for those over 65 but CAN I insist on getting it? Will they turn me down due to my age? I've chickenpox as a child.

I had radiation for breast cancer can I still have the vaccine for shingles

#49 - Did your husband try Lyrica? It works! BUT you must work with it - it can be strong but again it WORKS. The problem is that most people don't realize YOU MUST start with 1/2 of the lowest dosage. Get your doc to prescribe 25mg capsules. This is IMPORTANT IN ELDERLY! The lowest Lyrica is 25mg - TAKE 1/2 (open and put in applesause). Take twice a day. Take until "Lethargy/tiredness" is manageable (might be 1 week, might be 8 weeks). IT WILL GET MANAGEABLE! Then ask physician to increase and do another trial. Increase to 37.5 mg or 1 25mg tab and 1/2 25mg tab. (That's 37.5 mg). Do that twice a day again for 1 week to 8 weeks or as long as it takes to manage the tiredness. (You don't want to chance ANY falls)!. You can do this over 6 months or so until you get up to 150mg twice a day BUT I doubt you'll need that much. I do 75 in am and 150 at night and it took me a year to get to this point. At only 50, this med knocked me for a loop when I started on 25mg and my doctor thought it was "Silly" to do it the way I did, BUT had I listened to HER, she would have made the ASSUMPTION that I coudn't take it and I'd still be in horrible pain.!!!! (PS: Take this advice for all meds especially for anyone over 60 or sensitive to medications like I am).

#1. May I remind readers that Beth does not realize that it is the CHICKEN POX that causes SHINGLES. (She ranted about if kids were still getting chicken pox we'd have lifelong immunity thru exposure. WHAT? It's the exposure to chicken pox (the chicken pox virus that sits inside us and comes out later as painful shingles). MAY I also ask the readers to ask themselves "If outbreaks happen all the time because of vaccine failure", like Beth stated, then when was the last polio outbreak you remember? Outbreaks are occuring (alarmingly so) because parents are NOT vaccinating their children!

I am a 61 year old female and about three weeks ago was diagnosed with Shingles. I had the Shingles vaccination shot in May 2008. I was put on a 7 day, three pill a day dose of Valtrex - during the three weeks I was able to continue to play golf, tennis and exercise. I never had to change my routine. I had about 6 sores which are pretty well gone and minor itching and pain. Based on what I hear about shingles without the shot - I am extremely lucky that I got the shot before getting shingles. Hopefully in time all the odd feelings in my neck and shoulder will abate.

Wow.Alot of information.I am a Zostavax provider for a private company.I will answer as many questions as possible.Zostavax is a live form of chicken pox kept frozen.The Chicken pox vaccine is almost Identical to the Zostavax vaccine.You can get shingles after being injected with either one.In case studies it is supposed to boost the immune system to keep the virus dormat.If you get the shingles after you get the vaccine it could have been for several reasons.Your body just rejected it.(the vaccine)The dose was tainted by accidently being thawed by faulty equipment,freezers,etc..Most Doctors wont carry it not really because it has to be frozen.that is what they will tell you.Alot of Vaccines are kept frozen.The
main reason is the cost.The best price my company can pay for the Vaccine is 148.00 a dose and that is only because we buy 1000 doses at a time.If we were to
buy 10 doses at a time it would cost us closer to 200 dollars a dose.Now if a
doctor has 10 patients that want the vaccine he has to shell out 2000.00 and may
not get reimbursed for several months.Its just easier to say the dont carry it.They would never say because of cost i suspect.The flu vaccine cost about $1.00 a shot and it has to be kept refrigerated at all times.They have that.anyway almost everyone is exposed to chicken pox all the time.If you think youve never had it you probably did.If you dont believe me do a simple blood test called a Varcella Zoster titer.In my 18 years of Medical Technology i have never seen a negative result.Ive seen probably 2000 of them.These were all people that claimed to have never had chicken Pox.The mercury comment is bogus.I will tell you this for all you Catholics out there.It is to be said that Stem cell were used to create the Vaccine in certain portions.This should raise some eyebrows.Not picking on Catholics but anyone for that matter that is against Stem cell research.But all in all the Vaccine has to be handled with care or it wont work.And if it is handled with care it is about 50 percent effective which may be worth a couple hundred bucks if you have the money.If you dont have the insurance or a couple hundred bucks there is a good chance you will get shingles before you die.Its not always horrible but it can be very bad.I gave the shot to my 65 year old father and my 85 year old grandmother.

not get reimbur

I have two questions-no comments
First, I had shingles for the first time in Oct. The pain an dblisters are gone, but I still have a very red rash with bumps. IS this normal? And what can I do to get rid of it.
Second, can you get the vacine if you're under 60 and can pay for it (I'm 55?)

My husband and I do not know if we have EVER had the Chicken Pox and we are both over the age of 65. Should we still get the vaccine for it ?

Thank you for your answer in advance.

Adrianne,

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says adults 60 and over should get a vaccine against the virus that causes.

Elizabeth Cooney
White Coat Notes.

Can someone who knows please address the question on what EXACTLY is so crucial about being 60 (or older) in order to get the vaccine? I'm 58 and I have a prescription to get the shot but the pharmacist said Merck's instructions indicate holding off until age 60. What is so particularly magical about 60, when many 50 year olds have contracted this disease???

After suffering severe stress as a inner London teacher I suffered full blown shingles in my top left quadrant which severely damaged my eye. I received no antiviral drug as by the time my GP had corrected his diagnosis that i was suffering from SINUSITIS. it was too late.
I have never had so much pain. At the time there were cases of shingles among my pupils many of whom were immigrants & not aware that they should not be in school. Health visitors claimed that shingles was triggered by contact with others with chicken pox. Doctors say that this not possible. I got no compensation. I continue to get severe neuralgia in my eye which is always sore pain & needs constant medical attention. I am now also told by a neighbour that my increasing out breaks of severe back pain is probably caused by flare ups of shingles from the chicken pox virus in my spine.
Any comments. Would vaccination cure my back & eye problems ?

Get the vaccine!
Shingles can cause sooooo many problems, possibly blindness, if the virus attacks the nerves of the face. It is worth the price for prevention.
Also, who wants to suffer herpetic pain if there is a way to prevent it. It is very, very miserable!
Can you really afford NOT to take this vaccine?

i got the vaccine a few days ago and i still got an out break