SHINGRIX—THE NEW SHINGLES VACCINE
You probably had chickenpox when you were younger, which means you’re subject to getting shingles later in life. Chickenpox and shingles are related because they’re caused by the same virus (varicella zoster). After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays dormant in the body. But it can reactivate years later and cause shingles.
The pain of shingles is one of the worst hurts in medicine. My good friend Laura had it for many months and she said it was worse than labor and delivery of her kids.
Our risk of getting shingles increases as we get older, thus it’s important for us seniors to have strong protection against it.
The first shingles vaccine, Zostavax®, was licensed in 2006. It’s a live, weakened form of the chickenpox virus. Zostavax reduces the risk of the rash by about 51%, and against the pain associated with shingles about 67%.
In October 2017 another shingles vaccine was licensed. It’s called Shingrix® and is made by the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. Shingrix offers much greater protection against the rash than Zostavax—it’s more than 90% effective in all age groups.
Here’s more information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a U.S. government agency, in their article What Everyone Should Know about Shingles Vaccine (Shingrix):
CDC recommends that healthy adults 50 years and older get two doses of Shingrix, separated by 2 to 6 months, to prevent shingles and the complications from the disease. Your doctor or pharmacist can give you Shingrix as a shot in your upper arm.
You should get Shingrix even if in the past you
- Had shingles
- Received Zostavax
- Are not sure if you ever had chickenpox
If you had shingles in the past, you can get Shingrix to help prevent future occurrences of the disease. There is no specific length of time that you need to wait after having shingles before you can receive Shingrix, but generally you should make sure the shingles rash has gone away before getting vaccinated.
You can get Shingrix whether or not you remember having had chickenpox in the past. Studies show that more than 99% of Americans 40 years and older have had chickenpox, even if they don’t remember having the disease.
Studies show that Shingrix is safe. The vaccine helps your body create a strong defense against shingles. As a result, you’re likely to have temporary side effects from getting the shots. Most people have a sore arm with mild or moderate pain after getting Shingrix, and some also had redness and swelling where they received the shot. Some people felt tired, had muscle pain, a headache, shivering, fever, stomach pain, or nausea. About 1 out of 6 people who got Shingrix experienced side effects that prevented them from doing regular activities. But symptoms went away on their own in 2 to 3 days.
All in all, Shingrix seems rather remarkable. You might want to look into getting your first, then your second dose of this new vaccine ASAP.