{"id":8050,"date":"2018-12-05T08:30:25","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T13:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/?p=8050"},"modified":"2018-11-30T13:48:12","modified_gmt":"2018-11-30T18:48:12","slug":"how-to-find-the-new-shingrix-vaccine-for-shingles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/health-maintenance\/how-to-find-the-new-shingrix-vaccine-for-shingles\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Find the new Shingrix Vaccine for Shingles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shingles Vaccine Shortage: What You Must Know<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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With demand for Shingrix outstripping supply, here\u2019s how to protect yourself<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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By Diane Umansky<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
September 29, 2018<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"There<\/p>\n

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Shingrix, the two-dose vaccine approved last year to prevent shingles and its blistery skin rash, continues to be in short supply\u2014and shortfalls may last through the end of the year, according to Kathleen Dooling, M.D., a medical officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n

How long you may have to wait for the vaccine may depend on where you live. \u201cIt probably varies throughout the country and is a moving target,\u201d Dooling says. \u201cWe know that in some places supply is meeting demand, and in other places it\u2019s not. There are a lot of factors, particularly large pharmacy chains\u2019 ability to move supply around.\u201d<\/p>\n

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the manufacturer of Shingrix,\u00a0calls the level of demand unprecedented and says it is shipping \u201clarge volumes\u201d of the vaccine to pharmacies every two or three weeks\u2014which it expects to continue doing through the end of the year.<\/p>\n

GSK spokesman Sean Clements says the company is also keeping government agencies up to date on current supplies. GSK declined to specify the specific steps it is taking to prevent shortages in the future, but said in a statement, \u201cGoing forward, providers and patients can feel confident that more doses are being made available regularly and that they will be able to find the vaccine to complete their two-dose series.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Difficulty getting the vaccine is bad news for those who want to protect themselves against shingles, which can bring two to four weeks of painful skin eruptions and, in 20 percent of cases, the lingering nerve pain known as post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). Shingles occurs when the chickenpox virus, dormant in those who once had the illness, reawakens years later. It strikes about 1 in 3 people at some point, and the older you are, the higher your risk.<\/p>\n

The apparent effectiveness of Shingrix might explain the high interest. In clinical trials, the vaccine, which is approved for most\u00a0people 50 and older<\/a>, provides up to 90 percent protection against shingles and 86 percent protection against PHN.<\/p>\n

That makes it far more effective than Zostavax, the single-dose shingles vaccine that has been available since 2006. It cuts shingles risk by 51 percent and PHN risk by 67 percent. The CDC considers Shingrix the preferred vaccine over Zostavax but says, \u201cZostavax may still be used to prevent shingles in healthy adults 60 years and older.\u201d<\/p>\n

Note that not all health insurance plans cover the vaccine, so check with your insurer first. And if you\u2019re on Medicare, whether you\u2019ll be covered can depend on whether you have signed up for a Medicare Part D plan. Read more about\u00a0how to pay for your shingles vaccine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what else you need to know about Shingrix availability and the steps to take to protect yourself from shingles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What Can You Do to Find Shingrix?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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If you\u2019re eligible for Shingrix (50 or older, and not immunocompromised or taking moderate to high doses of drugs that suppress immunity), you can start by asking whether your pharmacist or doctor currently has the vaccine, suggests the American Pharmacists Association (APhA).<\/p>\n

If no Shingrix is in stock, ask when they expect more and whether you can be put on a waiting list. (Some pharmacies and other providers may be keeping these.) Ask if they\u2019ll contact you or whether you should call them periodically about restocking, and whether they know of another provider who may currently have Shingrix.<\/p>\n

You might also want to contact other area pharmacies yourself. The CDC\u2019s\u00a0Vaccine Finder<\/a>\u00a0and GSK\u2019s\u00a0Shingle Vaccine Locator<\/a>\u00a0may be useful, but it\u2019s wise to phone ahead before trekking to a far-flung pharmacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe websites are not up-to-the-minute, so what\u2019s showing in the vaccine finder may reflect yesterday or last week\u2019s information,\u201d Dooling says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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How Can You Get Your Second Dose?<\/h2>\n
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As soon as you get your first dose, make an appointment for the second dose two months later, Dooling says. Ask whether the provider\u2014usually a pharmacy or doctor\u2014is keeping a list of people who need the second dose, because they should receive priority, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

\u201cFind out if they have a recall and reminder system for people who\u2019ve had their first dose,\u201d Dooling adds.<\/p>\n

Once you receive notification that your second dose is available, call the day before you\u2019re scheduled to receive it to confirm, the APhA says.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t skip that second shot.\u00a0The two-dose recommendation is based on research, and we don\u2019t have any evidence on how well just one dose might protect against shingles.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou obviously get some immune response, but exactly how strong it is and how long the protection lasts is not known,\u201d says William Schaffner, M.D., professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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And If You Can’t Find That Second Shot?<\/h2>\n
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The CDC\u2019s recommendation, based on evidence from clinical trials, is to get your second dose of Shingrix anywhere from two to six months after the first.<\/p>\n

But if it takes longer than that to locate a second dose, don\u2019t worry, Schaffner says. The CDC advises simply getting that second dose as soon as you can find it\u2014and no, you don\u2019t have to start the series over.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing is not critical,\u201d Schaffner notes. \u201cYou just don\u2019t want to get it sooner than recommended because then the body\u2019s immunity is still working on the first dose, so you don\u2019t get the full benefit of the second.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also fine to get your second dose from a different pharmacy or doctor than your first. \u201cBut let your home-base provider know you\u2019ve gotten it,\u201d Schaffner says. \u201cAs soon as I got my second dose, I sent my physician an email so he could put it in my\u00a0medical record<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What If You Can’t Get a First Dose Anywhere?<\/h2>\n
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One reasonable option, if you\u2019re eligible, is to have the Zostavax vaccine in the interim, say both Dooling and Schaffner\u2014but if you do so, you will need to wait at least eight weeks before getting the newer vaccine.<\/p>\n

(Note that the CDC recommends that anyone who\u2019s had Zostavax also get Shingrix and that Zostavax can\u2019t be used as a substitute for a second dose of Shingrix.)<\/p>\n

Finally, \u201cKeep looking and be patient,\u201d Dooling says. \u201cIt is worth the wait, and we anticipate that supply will catch up with demand.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.consumerreports.org\/shingles-vaccine\/shingles-vaccine-shortage-shingrix-availability\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Shingles Vaccine Shortage: What You Must Know With demand for Shingrix outstripping supply, here\u2019s how to protect yourself By Diane Umansky September 29, 2018 Shingrix, the two-dose vaccine approved last year to prevent shingles and its blistery skin rash, continues … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9193321,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[313094],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-maintenance"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paB9fc-25Q","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9193321"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8050"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8053,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8050\/revisions\/8053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}