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I'm now 59, but I've had Shingles multiple times since my mid-30's. Except for one time (after a motorcycle accident), they were all proceeded by a lot of extra stress at work. Luckily I never experienced extreme on-going pain from them. I do though have a lot of various chronic nerve pain for other reasons, so it can be hard for me to tell what's what.
OKay, I have a question that I haven't been able to find an answer for. Can (or should) you get the shingles vaccine if you aren't sure if you ever had chicken pox? My mom couldn't remember if I had it before age 5, she had 5 children so I can see how she could forget who had what. I know that I didn't have it after age 5. Now my younger brother had them twice in childhood and I was certainly exposed to them when he had them. I even put medicine on his spots.
Is there any reason I shouldn't get the shot?What if I get the shot and actually never had chicken pox? Will I get chicken pox or shingles from the shot?
Yes. Ask the Experts about Zoster (shingles) Vaccines - CDC experts answer Q&As "Before administering zoster vaccine is it necessary to ask if the person has ever had chickenpox or shingles?
No. All persons age 60 years or older-whether they have a history of chickenpox or shingles or not-should be given zoster vaccine unless they have a medical contraindication to vaccination (described below). It is also not necessary to test for varicella antibody prior to or after giving the vaccine.
Should people who haven't had chickenpox be vaccinated with zoster vaccine?
Serologic studies indicate that almost everyone born in the United States before 1980 has had chickenpox. As a result, there is no need to ask people age 60 years and older for their varicella disease history or to conduct lab tests for serologic evidence of prior varicella disease. A person age 60 years or older who has no medical contraindications, is eligible for zoster vaccine regardless of their memory of having had chickenpox. The same principal applies if a clinician decides to vaccinate a person 50 through 59 years of age.
For patients age 60 or older who don't remember having chickenpox in the past, should we test them for varicella immunity before giving zoster vaccine?
No. Simply vaccinate them with zoster vaccine according to the ACIP recommendations."
(Mods-non-profit site)
No. See above.
Not a big deal.
OK, here's where we get into murky territory as I've never seen an answer to this question. Educated guess? Probably not. If you got anything, it would be chickenpox. I'm sure it's happened that people who haven't had chickenpox have gotten shingles vaccine. I could not find anything about someone getting chickenpox after receiving the shingles vaccine.
I am a HUGE advocate of any kind of immunization, and chickenpox is no different....HOWEVER, it is VERY important that when you go and get the Shingles vaccine, you let them know if you, or anyone you live with or come in contact with are in ANY WAY immunocompromised! Unfortunately, too many people we know in this age group are receiving some kind of cancer treatments or have some illness that as affected their naturally declining immunities even more so than the normal aging process. Get guidance on how to keep you AND them safe!
I am a HUGE advocate of any kind of immunization, and chickenpox is no different....HOWEVER, it is VERY important that when you go and get the Shingles vaccine, you let them know if you, or anyone you live with or come in contact with are in ANY WAY immunocompromised! Unfortunately, too many people we know in this age group are receiving some kind of cancer treatments or have some illness that as affected their naturally declining immunities even more so than the normal aging process. Get guidance on how to keep you AND them safe!
There are no reports of the varicella-zoster virus being transmitted from adults vaccinated with the shingles vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-...e/faq-20058137
From the CDC itself: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/shi...lic/index.html "It is safe to be around infants and young children, pregnant women, or people with weakened immune systems after you get the shingles vaccine. There is no documentation of a person getting chickenpox from someone who has received the shingles vaccine (which contains varicella zoster virus).
Some people who get the shingles vaccine will develop a chickenpox-like rash near the place where they were vaccinated. As a precaution, this rash should be covered until it disappears."
(Emphasis mine)
I can't find a source for how many get the rash. For chickenpox vaccine it is 1 in 25; I believe it's fewer with the shingles vaccine. The person with the rash is only contagious if someone comes in contact with the exudate from the rash, hence the advice to keep it covered. It is far more dangerous to the immunocompromised person to be exposed to full-on shingles. The new vaccine is not live-virus.
The vaccine that has been available, Zostavax, is only effective 70% of the time, for about 5 years
It declines with age, and you should get a booster after that time.
Literally , last month, a newer vaccine was approved by the FDA, Shingrix.
This vaccine is effective 90% of the time, but is a 2 shot vaccine. You need to get 2 shots for the vaccine
and is recommended for people over 50 years old.
But will last much longer that Zostavax
But this vaccine has more side reactions than Zostavax (might want to ask your doc about them)
So if you get the vaccine, you might want to ask which one they are giving you and decide.
If Zostavax, in the coming years, you might be told you need to get the Shingrix anyway.
Shingrix, being just approved , may not be available in all places for awhile.
Also, it cost about $250-300.
A lot of insurance plans do not cover it, so if cost is an issue, you should call your part D insurance company to ask if it is covered.
Here's info from the product page at GSK:
Quote:
Solicited local adverse reactions in subjects aged 50 years and older were pain (78.0%), redness (38.1%), and swelling (25.9%)
Solicited general adverse reactions in subjects aged 50 years and older were myalgia (44.7%), fatigue (44.5%), headache (37.7%), shivering (26.8%), fever (20.5%), and gastrointestinal symptoms (17.3%)
I just called GSK who is the developer and producer of Shingrix, and the representative told me that the major various insurance providers usually decided with the first quarter of the year whether a new product will be included it its Formulary, so even if your provider doesn't presently carry it, by about April it should be known if they are planning to have it.
Concerning a slightly different issue: when I asked, the rep also told me the vaccine does not use fetal cell tissue in its production, in case anyone is interested to know.
I've never had the other vaccination because of it being present in the other product, so am thrilled to know I can now receive vaccination against Shingles. For me it was a morality issue.
Yes. Ask the Experts about Zoster (shingles) Vaccines - CDC experts answer Q&As "Before administering zoster vaccine is it necessary to ask if the person has ever had chickenpox or shingles?
No. All persons age 60 years or older-whether they have a history of chickenpox or shingles or not-should be given zoster vaccine unless they have a medical contraindication to vaccination (described below). It is also not necessary to test for varicella antibody prior to or after giving the vaccine.
Should people who haven't had chickenpox be vaccinated with zoster vaccine?
Serologic studies indicate that almost everyone born in the United States before 1980 has had chickenpox. As a result, there is no need to ask people age 60 years and older for their varicella disease history or to conduct lab tests for serologic evidence of prior varicella disease. A person age 60 years or older who has no medical contraindications, is eligible for zoster vaccine regardless of their memory of having had chickenpox. The same principal applies if a clinician decides to vaccinate a person 50 through 59 years of age.
For patients age 60 or older who don't remember having chickenpox in the past, should we test them for varicella immunity before giving zoster vaccine?
No. Simply vaccinate them with zoster vaccine according to the ACIP recommendations."
(Mods-non-profit site)
No. See above.
Not a big deal.
OK, here's where we get into murky territory as I've never seen an answer to this question. Educated guess? Probably not. If you got anything, it would be chickenpox. I'm sure it's happened that people who haven't had chickenpox have gotten shingles vaccine. I could not find anything about someone getting chickenpox after receiving the shingles vaccine.
Barbara Walters got chicken pox a few years ago. How old was she? Now if shingles is a reactivation of chicken pox virus already inside a person, how can shingles vaccination prevent chicken pox in someone who has never had it? If a person has never had chicken pox, how can they catch shingles?
Wouldn't it make more sense to give these people, whatever their age, a varicella vaccination instead? Won't that prevent shingles down the line?
Barbara Walters got chicken pox a few years ago. How old was she? Now if shingles is a reactivation of chicken pox virus already inside a person, how can shingles vaccination prevent chicken pox in someone who has never had it? If a person has never had chicken pox, how can they catch shingles?
Wouldn't it make more sense to give these people, whatever their age, a varicella vaccination instead? Won't that prevent shingles down the line?
The present shingles vaccine is a high dose chickenpox vaccine. So that's how it prevents chickenpox in someone who never had it. If a person has never had chickenpox, they cannot get shingles. They can, however, get chickenpox if exposed to someone who has shingles.
I have been waffling on getting the shingles vaccine. I do know that they told me to not have any vaccinations for four weeks prior. I just had my second (and last) pneumonia booster shot, and like the first, my arm was reaaallly sore for four days afterwards. However, I had pneumonia two years ago, and it was so bad I wasn't sure I would survive, so the shot to help ward off any recurrence was a no brainer. What kind of reactions are there to the shingles shot?
.................. What kind of reactions are there to the shingles shot?
Personally I had none at all. (Yes, I know: A sample size of one proves nothing. So I give that only for what it's worth).
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