What Are The Shingles Vaccines
There are 2 vaccines, Shingrix® and Zostavax® II, that protect against shingles. Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox. Zostavax® II contains a weakened form of the virus while Shingrix® contains only a part of the virus. The vaccines are approved by Health Canada.
How Is Shingrix Given
Shingrix is given as an injection into a muscle. A healthcare provider will give you this injection.
Shingrix is usually given in a series of 2 shots. The second shot may be given any time within 2 to 6 months after the first shot.
You may receive Shingrix at the same time that you get a flu shot.
Read all patient information, medication guides, and instruction sheets provided to you. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions.
What About The Vaccine
- Shingrix® is a vaccine indicated for prevention of herpes zoster in adults aged 50 years and older.2 Two doses of Shingrix can help to provide strong protection against shingles and postherpetic neuralgia , which is long-term nerve pain, the most common complication of shingles.
- The 2-dose Shingrix vaccine series has been shown to be 97% effective in preventing shingles in adults aged 50-69 and 91% effective for those 70 and older.3
- The 2-dose Shingrix vaccine was 91% effective in preventing PHN in adults aged 50-69, and 89% effective in those 70 and older.
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Outcome Definitions And Follow
Our primary outcome was community HZ, defined by a claim in the OP or PB setting with an International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis code for HZ in any position with a claim for HZ-specific antiviral , identified using NDCs, within 7 days of diagnosis. As a sensitivity analysis, we used this same clinical definition without requiring a prescription for antivirals. As secondary outcomes, we evaluated community ophthalmic zoster and PHN. We defined community OZ by a claim in the institutional OP or PB setting with an ICD-10 diagnosis code for OZ in any position , combined with a claim for a prescription for HZ-specific antivirals within 7 days of diagnosis. We defined PHN in the 90180 days after HZ onset using a modified version of the PHN algorithms from Klompas et al and Klein .
Follow-up continued until occurrence of any of the following: a subsequent claim for a third dose of RZV death termination of Medicare Parts A/B or D coverage or enrollment into Part C admission to a nursing home, skilled nursing facility or hospice occurrence of either HZ, OZ, or PHN or end of the study period.
Shingrix Vaccine For People With Weakened Immune Systems
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shingrix-vaccine-for-people-with-weakened-immune-systems/shingrix-vaccine-for-people-with-weakened-immune-systems
From 1 September 2021, people who are 70 to 79 years of age with weakened immune systems will be offered the Shingrix vaccine to help protect them against shingles.
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How Long Does It Take To Work
It takes time for your body to make enough antibodies to fight off germs and protect you from certain diseases.
Results from clinical studies of Shingrix showed that the recommended dosing schedule for Shingrix does cause an immune response. This dosing schedule states that after you receive the first dose, you should get the second dose two to six months later.
How long Shingrix takes to work may not be the same for everyone. The timing for you will depend on your body chemistry. In general, you should be protected from shingles soon after the second dose.
Shingrix Coupons And Rebates
Shingrix offers may be in the form of a printable coupon, rebate, savings card, trial offer, or free samples.Some offers may be printed right from a website, others require registration, completing a questionnaire,or obtaining a sample from the doctor’s office.
There are currently no Manufacturer Promotions that we know about for this drug.
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How Safe Is Shingrix
The FDA has approved Shingrix for preventing shingles in adults ages 50 and older. The results of several studies showed that Shingrix was safe and effective.
There have been concerns about ingredients, such as thimerosal, that may be added to vaccines. Thimerosal is a kind of preservative that contains mercury. Its added then taken out of some vaccines to keep other germs and bacteria from growing. The concern arose when early research connected thimerosal to autism. This link has since been found to be false. Shingrix doesnt contain thimerosal.
Make A Plan To Get 2 Doses
- You can get Shingrix at your doctors office or pharmacy. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about getting Shingrix.
- Plan to get your second dose of Shingrix 2 to 6 months after your first dose.
Five years later, I still take prescription medication for pain. My shingles rash quickly developed into open, oozing sores that in only a few days required me to be hospitalized. I could not eat, sleep, or perform even the most minor tasks. It was totally debilitating. The pain still limits my activity levels to this day.
A 63-year-old harpist who was unable to continue playing due to shingles
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Please adjust your search to find providers near you.
The information provided is for informational purposes only, and is not meant to replace your pharmacists or doctors medical advice or information from your plan about preferred pharmacies or doctors.
You may search by ZIP code. You may also narrow your search by Provider Type. Any information you provide is used solely to help you find a pharmacist or doctor. It will not be disclosed to third parties. Please note: This list is pulled from a publicly available nationwide database of pharmacies and doctors who have indicated their specialty. While it is updated regularly, this list may not have the latest provider information and results shown may not reflect all of the adult vaccine providers in your area. GSK has compiled the list of pharmacists and doctors who have been provided information about SHINGRIX by GSK in this directory.
If you represent a medical practice or pharmacy and would like to update the information displayed on this map, please visit the NPI Registry.
Exposure And Index Date Definition
We identified RZV and ZVL vaccinations using national drug codes in Medicare Part D claims . All beneficiaries started as unvaccinated on the index date of 1 November 2017 and switched to the subsequent vaccinated cohorts 30 days after the corresponding vaccination date to account for the time for a biological immune response. Additional beneficiaries cannot enter the study after the index date. Beneficiaries contributed survival time according to their status. For example, individuals who experienced an outcome prior to their first dose were censored on the outcome date and thus did not contribute any time to the first-dose population. We defined influenza vaccinees using Current Procedural Terminology/Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes Supplementary Table 3) .
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More Common Side Effects
The more common side effects of Shingrix can include:
- pain, redness, and swelling at site of injection
- muscle pain
- dizziness
- flu-like symptoms, including fever, shivering, and tiredness
Most of these side effects may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks. If theyre more severe or dont go away, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Shingrix Is Not A Live Vaccine
A live vaccine is one that contains a weakened form of a germ. Shingrix is not a live vaccine. Its an inactive vaccine, which is a vaccine thats made from a germ thats been killed.
Because Shingrix is inactive, more people can receive it. This includes people with a weakened immune system .
People with weakened immune systems are typically advised against receiving live vaccines. This is because on very rare occasions, live vaccines can mutate back to the full-strength germ that causes a disease. If this happens, people with weakened immune systems would have a much higher risk for developing the disease that the vaccine is meant to prevent.
Shingrix is also a recombinant vaccine. This means that its made of parts of the shingles germ, such as protein, sugar, or capsid .
Zostavax is a different shingles vaccine that is live. If youre unsure about which vaccine may be right for you, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
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How Can You Prevent Shingles
Vaccination is the ONLY way to reduce the risk of getting shingles. The CDC recommends that people aged 50 years and older get two doses of the Shingrix® shingles vaccine.
If you have questions about your shingles vaccination, you should talk with your Rite Aid Pharmacist or other health care professional.
Guidance On Reporting Adverse Events Following Immunization
Vaccine providers are asked to report AEFIs through local public health officials and to follow AEFI reporting requirements that are specific to their province or territory. In general, any serious or unexpected adverse event felt to be temporally related to vaccination should be reported.
For LZV the following AEFIs are also of particular interest and should be reported:
- Suspected transmission of vaccine-strain virus to a close household or occupational contact. This phenomenon has been documented following varicella vaccine but it is rare, and transmission has not been documented with LZV.
- Recurrent HZ following immunization of individuals with a history of HZ prior to immunization, noting the area of recurrence.
- Recurrent HZO following immunization of a person who has had a previous episode of HZO. If available, a vitreous fluid specimen should be sent to a laboratory with a request to determine whether the virus is the vaccine strain or wild type virus.
For definitions of serious and unexpected adverse events, refer to Vaccine Safety in Part 2.
For more information refer to Reporting Adverse Events Following Immunization in Canada.
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Cvs Pharmacy Now Offering New Shingles Vaccine At Locations Nationwide
More than 9,800 CVS Pharmacy locations have the Shingrix vaccine in stock for patients
WOONSOCKET, R.I., March 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health , announced today that all of its more than 9,800 pharmacies have the new Shingrix vaccine available for patients.1 The new vaccine was licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2017 and is now recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
Healthy adults age 50 and older are recommended to get two doses of Shingrix, two to six months apart, to prevent shingles and reduce the course and severity of the disease. The Shingrix vaccine is considered more than 90 percent effective at preventing shingles and protection stays above 85 percent for at least the first four years after a patient is vaccinated.
Ninety-nine percent of people ages 50 and older are at risk of getting shingles, a painful rash that is also known as herpes zoster, in their lifetime. There are an estimated one million cases of shingles each year in the U.S. It is recommended that patients who have had shingles, have previously received the Zostavax vaccine,2 or who are unsure if they have had chickenpox, receive the Shingrix vaccine. Anyone who has recovered from chickenpox may develop shingles, including children, although the risk of shingles increases as people age.
How Do You Get The Shingles Vaccine
So here is the million-dollar question, “How do I get the shingles vaccine?” If you’re looking to get this vaccine, you can start by asking your primary health care provider. A doctor or nurse practitioner can administer the shingles vaccine.
Persons who can get the publicly funded Shingrix vaccine can get it through their doctor. People who aren’t eligible for it should seek to buy it privately. If you need to buy it privately, your doctor will need to give you a prescription for it.
Most pharmacies and travel clinics sell the shingles vaccine. If there is a doctor or nurse at the travel clinic, they will administer the shot. The staff at most pharmacies in Canada can vaccinate customers.
It’s always a good idea to contact your health insurance provider if you’re not sure if it covers the cost of the shingles vaccine. The company will be more than happy to inform you if your insurance plan covers the cost of this vaccine.
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Simultaneous Administration With Other Vaccines
RZV and LZV may be administered concomitantly with other live vaccines given by the parenteral, oral, or intranasal routes. For concomitant parenteral injections, different injection sites and separate needles and syringes should be used.
In general, inactivated vaccines including RZV may be administered concomitantly with, or at any time before or after, other inactivated vaccines or live vaccines protecting against a different disease.
LZV may be given at any time before or after live oral or intranasal vaccines. If two live parenteral vaccines are not administered concomitantly, there should be a period of at least 4 weeks before the second live parenteral vaccine is given.
Concomitant administration of pneumococcal 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine and LZV has not resulted in decreased efficacy and so the two vaccines can be given concomitantly.
For more information, refer to Timing of Vaccine Administration in Part 1.
What Are The Benefits Of The Shingles Vaccine
The shingles vaccines are the best way to protect you from getting shingles. The vaccines have been shown to reduce the risk of getting shingles by 50% for Zostavax® II, and to more than 90% for Shingrix®.
For those who still get shingles after being immunized, the vaccines can reduce pain, including the type of pain that lasts after shingles.
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How Do You Get Shingles
Shingles is a disease that can affect anyone who has had chickenpox. There’s no way of knowing who will get shingles. There are risk factors that can give people an idea if they are at risk for developing shingles.
Advanced age is a major risk for this disease. The risk of getting it increases with age. Around half of the cases of shingles are diagnosed in adults 60 and older.
Persons who are older than 70 have the highest risk of getting shingles. Persons who have trouble fighting infections are also at risk. An HIV infection can also put a person at risk for shingles.
A person that has cancer of the bone marrow or lymphatic system shouldn’t get this vaccine. People undergoing radiation or chemotherapy need to refrain too.
You should know that shingles is not contagious. It can’t be transmitted from one person to another. Still, precautions need to be taken.
People who have never had chickenpox can get chickenpox from a person who has shingles. If you haven’t had chickenpox or aren’t sure if you had it, make sure to stay away from anyone who has shingles.
If you have shingles, you need to stay away from others. Avoid being around people with a weak immune system. People who have a poor immune system are highly susceptible to this disease.
There are several things that people with shingles can do to help reduce another person’s risk of getting chickenpox. Cover the shingles rash as direct contact with the fluid from the rash blisters can cause chickenpox.
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Shingles Vaccine For Age 50+: Shingrix
Shingles Vaccine for Age 50+: SHINGRIX
A few years ago, I had a case of shingles and it was not a pleasant experience. At the time of my physical examination last year, my doctor recommended the Shingrix vaccine to limit my chances of having another outbreak of shingles. If you are in the age 50+ category, you may also wish to get the Shingrix shots.
If youre one of the approximately 99% of adults over 50 years old who have had chickenpox, the virus that causes shingles is already inside your body. It can reactivate at any time, and your risk increases as your immune system naturally declines with age.
Generally, people only develop shingles once, although it is possible to get shingles more than once. Shingles may lead to long-term complications such as debilitating pain that lasts for months or even years. In rare cases, serious, long-term eye or hearing issues can occur.
SHINGRIX is a shingles vaccine approved by the FDA in 2017 and is the only shingles vaccine proven to be up to 90% effective in clinical trials. SHINGRIX works to boost your bodys protection against shingles. Your immune system declines as you age, and that puts you at an increased risk for shingles. For those who are 50 years and older, SHINGRIX helps your immune system defend against shingles regardless of age.
Your doctor will provide the advice you need on vaccines.