From The New Old Age
When last we discussed why so few older people take advantage of the vaccine against shingles — a nasty viral disease with sometimes debilitating consequences that afflicts one million Americans each year — a number of New Old Age readers asked a logical question.
Because the risk of shingles rises with age, and so do the severity of the symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends the vaccine, Zostavax, only for those over age 60. “I have wondered, why wait for age 60 to get the vaccine?” commented Eric from Sacramento. “I know of multiple people who got shingles in their 50s.”
“I was in my late 50s when I heard about the shingles vaccine a couple of years ago,” added Janem from Port Richmond, Calif. “Although I pleaded with my Kaiser doctor to give me the vaccine, she refused, citing the protocol.”
The good news, kind of, is that the Food and Drug Administration has since approved Zostavax for people aged 50 to 59. But the vaccine remains hard to find, cumbersome to get reimbursed for, and not nearly as widely used as researchers had hoped.
Read my article about it in Tuesday’s Science Times, and please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Because the risk of shingles rises with age, and so do the severity of the symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends the vaccine, Zostavax, only for those over age 60. “I have wondered, why wait for age 60 to get the vaccine?” commented Eric from Sacramento. “I know of multiple people who got shingles in their 50s.”
“I was in my late 50s when I heard about the shingles vaccine a couple of years ago,” added Janem from Port Richmond, Calif. “Although I pleaded with my Kaiser doctor to give me the vaccine, she refused, citing the protocol.”
The good news, kind of, is that the Food and Drug Administration has since approved Zostavax for people aged 50 to 59. But the vaccine remains hard to find, cumbersome to get reimbursed for, and not nearly as widely used as researchers had hoped.
Read my article about it in Tuesday’s Science Times, and please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Paula Span is the author of “When the Time Comes: Families With Aging Parents Share Their Struggles and Solutions.”
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