New Shingles Vaccine Available Without Prescription

The shingles virus affects one in three adults, or at least one million Americans a year, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, and there’s a new vaccine that a local doctor said is more effective than a previous version.

Shingles is a virus that stays dormant in the body after you’ve had the chicken pox and reactivates years later. The most common symptom is a rash, but, “b efore the rash develops, people often have pain, itching, or tingling in the area where the rash will develop,” according to the CDC.

A registered nurse with Always Caring Home Care Services for senior citizens said many patients complain about the pain.

“I remember one patient that had shingles and the clothing on her body would be so painful that she would actually take off her blouse with nothing touching her because her pain would be so severe,” Judy Mason said.

Shingrix is a new vaccine that protects against the shingles virus and adults 50 and older can get it at a doctor’s office or a pharmacy without a prescription.

Dr. Michael Simpson from the El Paso Dermatologist Center said, “they (the CDC) recommend you get the new Shingrix vaccine because it’s like 90 percent effective than the previous vaccine which is only about 70 percent effective.”

The CDC recommends adults 60 or older get two doses the Shringrix vaccine. Although people of all ages can get the shingles virus, the risk of shingles increases as you get older.

The cost of the vaccine is dependent on your health insurance.

For more information on the Shingrix vaccine, click here or here.