Anybody here get the shingles vaccine?

[CTyankee]

At my checkup later this month I am going to ask my doctor about whether I should get one. But I was wondering if anyone here had gotten the vaccine or knew anything about it. My pharmacist said it used to be very expensive, so I was wondering if Medicare would cover it.

[HuckleB]

1. Shingles Vaccine (Zostavax) Confirmed Safe

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/shingles-vaccine-zostavax-confirmed-safe/

As for medicare:

"All Medicare Part D plans cover the shingles vaccine. The amount of cost-sharing (money you have to pay) for vaccination varies.

Medicare Part B does not cover the shingles vaccine. If you have private insurance or Medicaid, your plan may or may not cover the vaccine; contact your insurer to find out."

From: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/shingles/vacc-need-know.htm

Good luck.

[LaurenG]

2. Medicare covers it I believe if you have part D you can get it from your pharmacy.

It is still expensive and has been extremely difficult to get until about 8 weeks ago.

https://www.vaccinesupportservices.com/reimbursement-product/reimbursement-information-zostavax.aspx

Edited to clarify wrong information

[CTyankee]

8. I do have part D and also an AARP supplement.

My doc's office should be able to find out.

[Mz Pip]

3. I had it when I turned 60

It was covered under my health plan. No problem. They don't routinely give it to people until they turn 60.

A year later my 31 year old son got Shingles the week before his wedding. It took a few days to diagnose since they were looking for a bacterial infection rather than a virus but he responded well to the anti-viral meds they gave him once they figured it out. He still has the scars on his face.

[CountAllVotes]

4. I was told to get it too

They recommend you get it if you are over 50 years of age. It used to be 60. The vaccine is costly (about $175.00 last I heard).

I don't think Medicare covers this but Medicare part D might. :shrug:

Best to call up Medicare and ask them.

As for the shingles, my husband had a severe case of them about 2 years ago. It almost blinded him and he was in severe pain for almost a year.

I found out that being I was taking care of him that I was heavily exposed and shingles is highly contagious I was told. I could very well be immune I've been advised (? again).

There is also a link between shingles and chicken pox. Supposedly if you've had the chicken pox you are at risk for shingles (?). Oddly, my husband never had the chicken pox nor did any of the other children in his family. They grew up in a very rural part of the world and no one had it where he lived yet he developed shingles anyway.

I hope this helps.

Get the vaccine if you are worried.

I'm not especially worried myself and my supplemental coverage will pay for the vaccine if you are over 60, not 50 (of course!).

:dem:

[Raven]

6. GET IT! GET IT! GET IT! I had shingles when I was 50. My son had

come home from college with chickenpox. I had had chickenpox as a kid. I developed cervical shingles which went up one side of my neck, into my face and up into my eye. It is extremely painful...like being a burn victem. Fortunately, I recovered fine but some people have lasting pain from this.

[drm604]

7. My doctor recently said over 60.

That's why I haven't gotten it yet. When did they change it to 50?

[CountAllVotes]

9. very recently

I'm not sure when this change occurred but it has been since my husband had them in 2008. The vaccine is 50% effective btw. :(

:dem: :kick:

[drm604]

10. I saw my doctor 2 or 3 months ago and asked about it.

He said it wasn't recommended before 60.

Edited to add: This CDC PDF says that it's recommended for adults over 60.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-shingles.pdf

[CountAllVotes]

11. FDA: Shingles Vaccine OK at Age 50 and Up

Here is the age 50 info. (recent ... as of March 2011)

>March 24, 2011 - People age 50 and older can now get Merck's Zostavax shingles vaccine, the FDA today ruled.

The vaccine already was approved for people age 60 and older. The approval is based on a Merck clinical trial that showed the vaccine to be about 70% effective in preventing shingles in the younger age group.

The study also found that even when vaccinated 50-somethings did get shingles, they suffered far less pain and far shorter bouts of the painful, sometimes disabling disease.

"The likelihood of shingles increases with age. The availability of Zostavax to a younger age group provides an additional opportunity to prevent this often painful and debilitating disease," Karen Midthun, MD, director of FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, says in a news release.

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/shingles/news/20110324/fda-shingles-vaccine-ok-at-age-50-and-up

On edit: I just went for a physical two weeks ago and it was recommended that I get this vaccine. However, I'm not old enough (60+) for my insurance to pay for it. My doctor who is an internist recommended I get it but I'm not going to right now.

Edit again:

>>The biggest drawback to Zostavax is its cost. The catalog price is about $161.50, about 10 to 20 times the cost of flu vaccine.



:dem: :kick:

[drm604]

15. Maybe my doc, who is also an internest, was recommending based on what my insurance will pay for.

I'm able and willing to pay $160 to avoid the pain I've heard about.

[DURHAM D]

5. I got it - Part D covered it.

However, they didn't have enough vaccines so I was put on a wait list in the last quarter of 2009. It took 7 or 8 months before my turn - August of 2010. The manufacturer was unable to keep up with demand. I believe Medicare coverage had changed and the company was caught off guard. Hopefully the wait has gone away.

[Avalux]

12. It's safe and I am not positive, but I think it's covered by Medicare.

My mom just got it at my urging. Shingles are very painful and slow in healing; the vaccine is worth it.

[CountAllVotes]

14. yes, if the vaccine works

It seems if you are over the age of 60 it works only 50% of the time. If you get it when you are 50, the vaccine is said to be 70% effective. That is worth it given these statistics.

:kick:

[Uben]

13. I've had the shingles.......

....and it is very uncomfortable for a couple of weeks.......if you're lucky. Some folks get a chronic case of them that lasts for years! TO me, it was like I was severely sunburned on the left half of my body, from the tips of my toes to the ends of the hair on my head. It usually only occurs unilaterally on your body. Wearing clothes was not tolerable. I made it thru by sleeping as much as possible.

If there is now a vaccine, I suggest you take it if it's safe. The shingles are not something you want to get. Fortunately, once you've had them, the odds are pretty good you won't get them again, thank goodness. Back when I had them, there was nothing on the market to help other than capsacin creme, which I found to be useless. Sleeping pills got me thru. Sleep four hours, suffer four hours...rinse and repeat until they go away! There are horror stories on the net of folks who have had them for many years. You'll pray you are not one of them!

[SheilaT]

16. In a few years they will probably

be recommending it for everyone over the age of 10.

I have not gotten the vaccine, although I'm over 60. My decision. My younger son did get shingles at the age of 20, and the doctor didn't correctly diagnose until son himself went on the internet and looked at the symptoms, and he had a pretty classic case. For him, anti-viral medication worked very well.

[Nay]

17. I got it last month, the day after I turned 60. My insurance will only pay for

it when you are over 60. I got a prescription from my doc, and took it to Walgreen's where the pharmacist did the injection. It cost about $210.00, and I had to file to be reimbursed by my ins co.

[badhair77]

18. Thanks for starting this thread.

Very helpful info here.

[CTyankee]

19. Thanks. I really needed more information so it was nice that people responded !

[CountAllVotes]

20. more on this

I did some calling around yesterday being I was told to get the shingles vaccine.

WELL ...

Walgreens has it for $219.00. They will not administer it to anyone younger than 60 years of age right now. If you want it if you are between 50-59 your doctor must order it and can apparently administer the vaccine.

Apparently even though the age has changed, it hasn't gone through all of the necessary approvals yet for it to be administered at Walgreens. They told me I'd have to be 60 as of this writing.

So, I give up and I'll wait.

As for shingles being "highly contagious" this seems to be not the case I was told by my doctor's nurse. Walgreens told me the same thing.

I hope this helps and I'd say get this vaccine at 50 if you can afford it. I saw what it did to my husband, and yes, shingles can kill you if you get a bad enough case.

On edit: Medicare will not pay for this. A supplement to Medicare plan should pay for it hopefully if you are 60+.

If you are 50 years old, you must foot the bill it seems to me regardless of what sort of insurance you may have. :(


:kick: