ROCHESTER, NY — Wegmans Food Market pharmacies are offering Shingrix, the more effective shingles vaccine recently recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, with no appointment or prescription necessary, the company announced Monday.
The CDC recommends that healthy adults 50 years and older get two doses of Shingrix, separated by two to six months, to protect against shingles and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most common complication from shingles.
Shingrix is now the preferred shingles vaccine, with an effective rate of more than 90 percent against shingles and PHN. It was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in October of 2017.
The previously recommended vaccine, Zostavax, was 51 percent effective against shingles and 67 percent effective against PHN, according to the Wegmans press release.
“We want to help our customers stay healthy by providing easy, convenient access to the most effective vaccinations available,” said Katie Niles, Wegmans pharmacist and pharmacy clinical wellness services manager, in the press release. “Because Shingrix has a much higher rate of effectiveness, it is recommended that all adults 50 and older, including those who received the previously available vaccine, receive the Shingrix vaccine to reduce their risk.”
The CDC’s recommendation of Shingrix means approximately 42 million adults aged 50-59 years old and 20 million who have previously been vaccinated against shingles may be eligible to receive the new vaccination.
Shingles is caused by the reactivation of the same virus that causes chickenpox, which remains dormant in the body after recovery. Anyone who has recovered from chickenpox can get shingles, though the risk increases with age.
According to the CDC, almost one out of every three people in the U.S. will develop shingles in their lifetime, with an estimated one million cases of shingles each year.
