Shingles vaccine should be publicly funded, doctor says

When you get chicken pox as a child, the virus lives in your body for the rest of your life. As you get older, your immune system forgets the virus and the protection wanes, allowing the virus to reactivate.

Chances are you or someone you know has had shingles.

The virus can be debilitating, and while there is a vaccine available to help fight off shingles, it is not publicly funded and it's also in short supply in some areas.

Eleven years ago, Brian George was diagnosed with shingles.

“When the doctor brought it up, I didn't even know what it was.” George said.

It's a virus that's more common in people as they get older, although George was only 24 at the time.

“It's definitely one of those things you want to get vaccinated for because my experience wasn't that bad, but I have heard that it can be pretty painful,” George said.

Doctors say shingles is a reactivation of the chicken pox virus. It can cause a blistering rash and be debilitating.

“When you get chicken pox as a child, the virus lives in your body for the rest of your life,” said Dr. Shelly McNeil. “As we get older and our immune system forgets the virus and the protection wanes, it allows the virus to reactivate or escape from the nerve root.”

There are vaccines available for shingles, the most common is Shringrix and it's quite popular these days.

“We've seen more demand for shingles vaccine in the past 18 months than we probably seen in the past five or six years,” said pharmacist Curtis Chafe.

Chafe says this new vaccine is more effective and in high demand.

“The projections for how many people were looking for shingles vaccines were a lot lower than what's actually happening,” said Chafe. “So, you're getting more people looking for it and exhausting existing supply and it's a little bit of time to get fresh stock into the market.”

The vaccine is not publically funded in most provinces, meaning people need to pay about $300 out of pocket to receive it.

McNeil recommends everyone over the age of 50 get the vaccine but understands the cost can be a barrier.

“It should be covered, because we know that it's common, it's debilitating, the vaccine works very well,” McNeil said.

Health experts say shingles is a common cause of visits to doctors and hospitals and the use of pain medications.  McNeil says most studies show it would be cost effective for the health system to pay for the vaccine. Those who are looking to get the vaccine can have a doctor or pharmacist prescribe it.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Natasha Pace.