Q: Is the shingles vaccine a good idea?
A: Short answer: Yes, if you are over 50 years old.
Long answer: Shingles is a disease cause by the re-activation of the chicken pox (varicella) virus that you got when you were a kid. When you get over chicken pox you aren’t cured, your immune system just suppresses it and it lies dormant in your nerve roots.
Shingles generally occurs on older individuals as our immune system gradually decreases with age but may be triggered by anything else that reduces our immune system such as high stress, illness or use of steroids.
Shingles usually presents as a chicken pox like rash in a line on the body and rarely kills anyone, however it can be extremely painful, and the nerve pain may continue years after the rash is gone. While there is treatment for shingles, it is only moderately successful, and patients usually still have a lot of pain.
The Center for Disease Control recommends that people over age 50 be immunized with the Shingrix vaccine. It is two shots given 2 months apart and reduces your risk of shingles from one in 10 to one in 300. You can get the shot even if you have had shingles but cannot get it if you are on long term steroids. It is not a live virus and cannot cause shingles. The cost is about $200 per shot with no insurance and with insurance the cost varies widely. If interested, you should contact your insurance carrier to see what your co-pay would be.
