Shingles Vaccine will be available free for over 65s from Nov 1 - have you had yours yet?
Who's not had a Shingles Vaccination yet? Up til the end of Oct, you have to be 70+ to access the free Vaccine ..... reduced to age 65 as of Nov 1. The NEWER vaccine, Shingrix is not a made from a 'live virus', so should be safe on immunocompromised people. (Zostervax uses a 'live virus' to make the vaccine, so can't be used on immunocompromised people.) Many of us would be termed 'immunocompromised' so you should be able to get it for free from your GP at any age - and the good news is that the age for others to get it for free, has now been reduced to 65 as of Nov 1 (from 70.) I had mine earlier this year. Ask if you need a booster shot (some are recommended within 6 months of the first shot) and then it is supposed to 'last' for about 10 years. I've had family members and friends who've had it recently & it is a horrible disease to get, extremely painful & not that pretty to look at, either, specially if you get it on your face. If you see your GP asap after seeing the rash - you can be given antivirals (within the first 72hrs) that should reduce the symptoms and they should also stop the rash spreading. .... Taking a mix of nurofen/ibuprofen and panadol/paracetamol (NOT aspirin) about 4hrs apart also helps control the pain, which can be really bad. If you haven't had the vaccine yet - Chat with your GP/Onc, to see if you can have it, relative to your current state of health and treatments. This article was in the Sun Herald this weekend just gone ...... if you enlarge the screen, I hope you can read it OK.
