Have You Had A Shingles Vaccine?

[PeterRS2]

About ten years ago I was sitting with some friends in Dick's Cafe in Soi Twilight when one mentioned he had just recovered from a nasty bout of shingles. I decided I would get vaccinated the next day as this is a particularly nasty condition that can make life a misery for a couple of weeks or more. It can also be dangerous if you get it on your forehead as it could spread to the eyes.

The doctor I saw informed me the vaccine would last ten years. So I was  reminded by an article in today's Guardian that it is time for another vaccination.

From what I know - and I am sure @unicorn will correct any errors - this was always thought to be an illness that affected older people. Now though an article in The Guardian points out that it is affecting much younger women (no mention of men). This is how one 39-year old lady described her experience - 

It had started in May with a strange pricking sensation under her bra. Then 10 large blisters, plus a host of smaller ones, formed in a band from her stomach to her back. They burned, “like someone was putting an iron on me. I don’t think I wore underwear for five or six weeks.” Showering, or even a cold flannel, would make her skin burn. Then came “the itch”, which lasted for five weeks and was so intense that she was lucky if she slept for four hours a night. “It was like something was crawling all over me all the time.”

A shingles vaccine is not cheap but certainly worth getting. Two doses are required at a total cost estimated in Thailand to be from 10,400-13,600 baht.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jul/26/shingles-rise-millennial-women

[unicorn]

The current shingles vaccine, Shingrix, requires only one set of two shots, 2-6 months apart. The prior shingles vaccine, Zostavax, did show a waning of immunity over time. So far, I haven't heard of any recommendation for boosters for Shingrix. I got the old vaccine about 7 years go, and will get the new one when I turn 65. 

https://www.cdc.gov/shingles/hcp/vaccine-considerations/index.html

CDC recommends 2 doses of Shingrix separated by 2–6 months for immunocompetent adults aged 50 years and older:

• Whether or not they report a prior episode of herpes zoster.
• Whether or not they report a prior dose of Zostavax, a shingles vaccine that is no longer available for use in the United States.
• It's not necessary to screen, either verbally or by laboratory serology, for evidence of prior varicella infection.

Recombinant and adjuvanted vaccines (like Shingrix) can be administered concomitantly at different anatomic sites with other adult vaccines. This includes COVID-19 vaccines. Coadministration of RZV with adjuvanted influenza vaccine (Fluad) and COVID-19 vaccines is being studied.

[a-447]

I had heard about shingles but never gave it a second thought - until a close female friend developed it.

She went through sheer hell. 

She told me a vaccine was available - zoster- and I rushed off to the doctor that very day.

I went back 7 years later to get a booster, only to be told the new vaccine was Shingrix, which I got on the spot.

Everyone I know is now vaccinated.

[TMax]

I had the old Zostavax many years back but wish I could have got the Shingrix at that time instead of Zosta, I did get shingles 3 years ago but luckily it was a relative mild case. Just affected an arm and felt like I had burnt myself but was diagnosed as shingles, I will be getting the Shingrix Vax very soon.

[a-447]

4 hours ago, TMax said:

I had the old Zostavax many years back but wish I could have got the Shingrix at that time instead of Zosta

Shingrix wasn't available back then - it first became available in 2021.

[floridarob]

1 hour ago, a-447 said:

Shingrix wasn't available back then - it first became available in 2021.

When I went for it, no one had it available, in Boston, So I got the Zoster.... A few years later I got Shingrix.

I just took for granted that these things are always in stock, even some medicines I take have been out occasionally.....