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The Shingles Vaccine(s)

Vinny said:
Fine, not a problem, but yet again, it is not the full story. Your chances of developing singles is low, so 38% of a low figure is a very low figure. You have something like 0.3% chance in any one year of developing shingles, so with the vaccine you will have something like a 0.2% chance. (ROUND FIGURES)
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Key part: 'in any one year'.
The cost of the vaccine is either zero or low. The cost of not taking the vaccine can be death, blindness, severe pain etc
Why risk it ?
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
Diagnosis confirmed by my GP.

I posted that I presumed no point in getting vaccinated, as I’ve already had it.




My presumption was that as I’ve already got the virus, and it persists, there’s no point in getting a vaccine to prevent me getting the virus.

Is there any evidence to suggest vaccinated people who already have the virus resident, are less likely to experience severe symptoms in the event of a flare up?

Edit, reading recent posts (without following the links yet) suggests there might be.
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https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/shingles/public/shingrix/index.html

"If you had shingles in the past, you can get Shingrix to help prevent future occurrences of the disease."
 
mansr said:
From that very page: "The lifetime risk of developing shingles is 20–30%, and the risk increases with age"
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If that simple figure was true, every fourth person that anyone knows would have shingles at some stage of life. No-one in my family that I know or have known, has had it. I have personally met just one person who has had it in 62 years.

If you take an average rate of a random 0.3% of the population gets shingles each year, over a lifespan of 80 years that gives around a 20% chance, but your probability of developing it is nothing like uniform from age zero to age 80. The figures do not agree with each other, or simple observation/experience.
 
Vinny said:
If that simple figure was true, every fourth person that anyone knows would have shingles at some stage of life. No-one in my family that I know or have known, has had it. I have personally met just one person who has had it in 62 years.

If you take an average rate of a random 0.3% of the population gets shingles each year, over a lifespan of 80 years that gives around a 20% chance, but your probability of developing it is nothing like uniform from age zero to age 80. The figures do not agree with each other, or simple observation/experience.
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2 out of 4 of my family have had it.
 
Vinny said:
If that simple figure was true, every fourth person that anyone knows would have shingles at some stage of life. No-one in my family that I know or have known, has had it. I have personally met just one person who has had it in 62 years.

If you take an average rate of a random 0.3% of the population gets shingles each year, over a lifespan of 80 years that gives around a 20% chance, but your probability of developing it is nothing like uniform from age zero to age 80. The figures do not agree with each other, or simple observation/experience.
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As I quoted earlier, some researchers did the "simple observation" of asking 1000 old people if they'd ever had shingles, and 24% of them answered yes.
 
Shingles is not random so stats about random are meaningless.
The stats that matter are how many over 60 year olds get shingles.
Even if those stats are low the cost/benefit indicates taking the vaccine.
 
richardkendell said:
From the NHS web site
"The brand name of the shingles vaccine given in the UK is Zostavax. It can be given at any time of the year."
Looks like it is a choice of Zostavax or Zostavax.
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Ah - sorry you are correct. Shingrix is used in the US and EU, but not in the UK, where it's under consideration for future approval. Still, as you get it for free in the UK rocking up every 5-10 years for a booster isn't too bad. Shingrix (2 doses) costs $350 in the US if your insurance doesn't cover it (I expect my insurance will pay part and I'll probably pay around $100). Still cheap compared to shingles.
 
My local pharmacist enquired about these vaccines. He can get Shingrix at £1000 per vial, cost to him. He can get Zostavax at £150 a vial, cost to him. The nurse in my doctor's practice hadn't heard of Shingrix, it's exotic in the UK. A private practice in Moorgate offers a Shingrix jab at £250, you need a pair. Superdrug have Zostavax in stock and will stab me with it for £170. The nurse said to me, "Go somewhere you can really trust to be confident that it really is the vaccine, not just water, and that it has been stored correctly." The pharmacist said to me, "How can Superdrug do it so cheaply? Check that it is not past its use by date -- they must have negotiated a price a while ago. "

Superdrug Zostavax sounds like the best option.
 
mandryka said:
My local pharmacist enquired about these vaccines. He can get Shingrix at £1000 per vial, cost to him.
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Makes a new mains cable seem good value doesn't it?
Surely the NHS isn't paying £150 a time for Zostavax is it? There do seem to be some very big mark ups around.
 
what a fascinating thread , so good to read peoples thoughts about it. its a vile illness and if you get low immunity and carry it in your system you can get it several times and its horrible. as many posters have mentioned
 
mansr said:
As I quoted earlier, some researchers did the "simple observation" of asking 1000 old people if they'd ever had shingles, and 24% of them answered yes.
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That is not what you were effectively claiming. You made no mention of age, now it is based on a survey of "old" people. Most of my uncles and aunts, and also my parents, died 70+, none had shingles, or never so bad that it was mentioned, so based on those figures, there is a 0% chance.

The stats do not agree, annual population stats v. lifetime. The simple calculation from 0.3% annual to 20% over an 80-year-lifetime, also assumes that everyone, ignoring age effects, is equally likely to develop shingles, but they are not.
 
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