I don’t understand the concept of a vaccine for a virus one has already contracted.
I’ve had chicken pox, which I don’t remember, and shingles, which responded well to benadryl (I slept a lot). I have asked three doctors about the shot, and not received a convincing argument for one.
(I work in the medical products industry and am not irrationally paranoid about them. My paranoia is very rational.)
The rational for vaccination is that it prevents disease and injury. Both in the subject, and in people in contact with the subject.
The rational for repeated vaccination, or vaccination after illness, is that immunity decreases over time.
About a third of people who have been exposed to chickenpox still have live chickenpox virus (in protected parts of their body which have low exposure to the immune system,) and will develop shingles at some time (mostly after they get old). It is an infective condition (not as infective as the pox), which may lead to the infection of immune compromised people, and sometimes causes permanent injury.
If you are over 70, have been exposed to chickenpox at some time, there is as I recall, about a 1% chance you may get shingles in any year. About a 0.1% chance you may be injured by it. About a 0.1% chance you may infect each immune compromised or un-vaccinated person you are in regular contact with.
Those numbers aren’t big enough to mean you will be a major public health risk if not vaccinated. At 50+, you’re old enough to make your own decisions: doctors won’t make that decision for you.
(Emphasis mine) My wife is immune-suppressed. She’s had a couple of organ transplants. So it’s not good that she’s more susceptible to illnesses.
I got shingles last summer. For about 3 1/2 months the only time I’d wear a shirt is on a quick run to the store. By the time I got back home the shirt would be driving me insane. Get the shot.
Some oef the drugs I take are immuno-suppressive, so a few years ago, my doctor recommended the shingles vaccine. I know two people who have had shingles and both have been adamant that it is not something I would want to experience for myself.
I don’t recall any side effects from the vaccine.
I get the rationale for vaccination, and even for booster vaccinations. I know how herpes sp. work. I’d really like to review the data on the 0.1% chance of infecting people with chicken pox, though. That sounds interesting.
I was hospitalized for shingles at 42, because my eyesight was at risk. I’ll be getting the vaccine shortly.
Apparently the side effects tend to be worse in people who have never had chickenpox.
I think part of the rational for lowering the age for shingles vaccine is that the new vaccine is less likely to have strong side effects?
II don’t think the new vaccine has made it to Melbourne yet? It hasn’t had much publicity here yet)
You can’t get shingles if you’ve never had chicken pox. If you have never had chicken pox, the shingles vaccine won’t help you.
After you have had chicken pox the virus lies dormant in the nerve tissue. If it reactivates, that’s shingles.
No side effects and no problems. The shot was free when I turned 60. No brainer.
Was that within the last 6 months?
Does it require a doctor’s authorization? I was talking to the pharmacist at WalMart about it and he seemed ready to give it to me on the spot, but when I told him I’m not yet 50 he seemed less interested.
Side question: I don’t know if I had chicken pox as a kid or not, and neither does MammaHomie. Does not having had chicken pox as a kid + shingles vaccine = bad outcome?
Yes.
It seemed a rather large bolus and was freezing cold, but no side effects. My sister however had a big rash all down the back of her arm. I seem to remember her case of chicken pox being quite a bit more severe than the others of us. I wonder if that’s why…
The pharmacist had me wait 15 minutes while the vaccine came to room temperature and he got the paperwork in order. So far (18 hrs), no side effects.
There is no law about what age you have to be, but insurance usually won’t cover it if you are under 60. And it’s expensive.
I got mine last year. Insurance covered it even though I was a few months short of 60. I had absolutely no side effects, blistering or soreness at the injection site. Nothing.
No side effects whatsoever.
I had the shingles shot a couple of years ago. For whatever reason, my arm was significantly sore, as in muscle soreness around the injection site, for a couple of weeks. Other shots didn’t bother me, but that one sure did.
Still, I’d rather have the shot than shingles.
Actually, there are many people who have never “had chickenpox” who have immunity to chickenpox, and are considered at risk of shingles.
But you can get shingles vaccination if you don’t have immunity to chickenpox: at least in Aus, they don’t test. And at age 70, you may have inaccurate memories of age 6.
I understand that the incidence and severity of vaccination side effects is/was likely to be worse for people who have no immunity to chickenpox.