If you had chicken pox as a child, as 99.5 percent of Americans now over 40 did, you still have the virus, and it can cause a painful rash called shingles, which can sometimes leave victims with permanent pain after the rash disappears. About 1 million Americans get shingles each year, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expect one in three adults to get it.
The good news is that there are vaccines for the virus, and the better news is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an improved vaccine called Shingrix in October. It may be available in 2018, Clark Kebodeaux, an assistant professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, writes for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
"Patients will need two vaccine shots to be fully protected with Shingrix: the first dose followed by a second dose two to six months later," Kebodeaux writes. "Clinical trials showed that the new vaccine is effective and longer-lasting than the previous vaccines."
The CDC's American Council on Immunization Practices recently voted to recommend that all healthy adults age 50 and older get Shingrix, including patients who have received Zostavax, an earlier vaccine, Kebodeaux reports.
"The Shingrix vaccine is new and is not yet available to the public, but may will be available in 2018," Kebodeaux writes. "Once available for distribution, the vaccine will likely be available at physician’s offices and pharmacies. Talk to your health care provider or pharmacist to see if it will be appropriate for you."
The good news is that there are vaccines for the virus, and the better news is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved an improved vaccine called Shingrix in October. It may be available in 2018, Clark Kebodeaux, an assistant professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, writes for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
"Patients will need two vaccine shots to be fully protected with Shingrix: the first dose followed by a second dose two to six months later," Kebodeaux writes. "Clinical trials showed that the new vaccine is effective and longer-lasting than the previous vaccines."
The CDC's American Council on Immunization Practices recently voted to recommend that all healthy adults age 50 and older get Shingrix, including patients who have received Zostavax, an earlier vaccine, Kebodeaux reports.
"The Shingrix vaccine is new and is not yet available to the public, but may will be available in 2018," Kebodeaux writes. "Once available for distribution, the vaccine will likely be available at physician’s offices and pharmacies. Talk to your health care provider or pharmacist to see if it will be appropriate for you."
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