The shingle
vaccine has been out for more than a year and so far it's been well-accepted
by seniors.
"If you're old
enough, it's the best strategy to prevent the illness," said Dr. Robert
Penn, chief of infectious disease in the department of medicine at LSU
Health Sciences Center.
The shingle
vaccine, Zostavax, is manufactured by Merck and was approved by the Food
and Drug Administration in May 2006. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend
it in October 2006 for people age 60 and older.
According to
Merck, 1 million doses of the vaccine have been sold.
Shingles is
a painful skin rash, often with blisters that lasts from two to four weeks.
For about one in five people, severe pain — post-herpetic neuralgia — can
continue even after the rash clears up.
At least 1 million
people a year in the United States get shingles, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Shingles is most
common in people older than 55, but the older you are the higher at risk
you are for it," Penn said. "It's also common in immune suppressed systems."
Zostavax is
a single-dose "live" vaccine, meaning it still contains tiny amounts of
the live cells of the virus.
But getting
shingles from the shot has not been a risk, said Penn.
"The most common
side effects we've seen have been mild discomfort at the site where the
shot was given," he said.
The shot is
not, however, recommended for immunocompromised individuals like those
who are HIV positive or taking chemotherapy.
Executive director
at the Caddo Council on Aging believes many seniors still don't know it's
available or that it's covered by the Medicare Part D drug plan and many
private insurances.
"The (Medicare)
Part D co-pays are a little different for each plan," said Mike Patton,
a pharmacist at Kroger's Mansfield branch, and one location which is offering
the vaccine. "And if they are using Part D then we can use (Medicare) Part
B to pay for the administration cost."
If your Part
D plan does not cover the vaccine, you can ask for an "exception," suggests
one Medicare help columnist for seniors "Ask Marci," with SeniorJournal.com.
Your doctor
will have to write a letter stating the vaccine is medically necessary.
For others age
60 to 64, the cost is fairly expense, $209.30 at Kroger Pharmacies, but
Patton says many private insurances also cover the vaccine.
"They may have
to pay for the vaccine themselves but most private insurances are paying
the reimbursement," Patton said. "I'd recommend calling your insurance
company and asking first."
Seniors should
ask their doctors if they are good candidates for the vaccine and where
to get it.
Taking the vaccine
at an age younger than 60 would be a personal decision about how to spend
your health dollars, Penn said.
"Many healthy
people will never have an episode of shingles," Penn said.
Few doctor's
offices will have the vaccine onsite because of its requirements for storage.
"The vaccine
is live and requires a subzero freezer to store and it has to be reconstituted
before it's given," said Dr. Robert Savory of Family Medicine and Geriatrics
in Shreveport, who recommends the vaccine to his geriatric patients. "Your
doctor will likely write a prescription and then you can take it to a pharmacy
that is providing the vaccine."
The vaccine
is good news for baby boomers, many of whom have had the chickenpox, a
prerequisite in getting shingles, which is caused by the same virus, varicella
zoster.
What happens
is after you recover from chickenpox, the virus does not leave your body,
but continues to live in some nerve cells. When it's activated, it produces
shingles, according to the CDC.
"We don't know
exactly what triggers an outbreak but one of the most important factors
seems to be something that reduces the body's immune control over the virus
like another illness or medications," Penn said. "Depending on which nerve
its settled is where you have the outbreak."
Usually people
only have one episode of shingles, said Penn, but a few people will get
it again and in a minority it can be very serious and debilitating.
"The chances
of it being serious go up the older you are when you get it," he said.
Studies on the
vaccine show it reduces the risk of getting shingles by 50 percent and
it reduces the risk of getting a more serious case by two-thirds.
"For those reasons
we think the vaccine is useful," Penn said.
Since 1995 children
have been given the chickenpox vaccine, which is different then the shingles
vaccine, but researchers still believe this will reduce the number of shingle
cases as younger generations get older.
"The information
we do have so far looks like it will reduce the risk (in these individuals),"
Penn said.
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Copyright
2007 by United Press International.
All rights reserved.
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