Has everyone had their Shingles vaccine?
Hi there. Just had my second shingles vaccine today. I did it because I do not want more pain and I have heard that Shingles is VERY painful!!
The injection itself stung a little bit, but I did not have any side effects from it.
If you are over the age of 50 you need to do this— protect yourself!
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) Support Group.
The old shingles vaccine, Zostavax was discontinued in the US in 2020. It was a live vaccine which induced shingles in some people and was harmful to immuno-compromised people. It's success rate for stopping people getting shingles was 51%. Even so, everyone was urged to take it as "safe and effective". We only discontinued Zostavax in Australia 6months ago and replaced it with Shingrix, same as in the US.
The new shingles vaccine, Shingrix has a much better record so far. Immuno-compromised people are allowed to take it with 60-91% chance of it stopping them getting shingles. The higher efficacy percentages they give are for healthy people. Lower for us.
janiceem, I’ve wondered about this, too. I was so very active before PMR - sailing, biking, long walks, keeping up with toddlers. And I’ve been healthy and resilient my whole life.
Many others on this forum have talked about what healthy, active lifesyles they had prior to PMR. Blessed with good immune systems, now we struggle with one that doesn’t know when to turn off.
I think your link is missing.
Can you post a link to the CDC reference to PMR & the covid vaccine? I'd love to dig in.
I thought I posted a link, sorry, I can't find the specific link again but here are a few more:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9259323/
https://www.healio.com/news/rheumatology/20230824/newonset-inflammatory-diseases-may-be-triggered-by-covid19-infection-vaccination
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9399140/
Plenty more info and sources linking vaccine and flu shots as well to autoimmune diseases but I want to do my yard work before it hits 100 degrees today. 🙂
Go easy on the yard work! Especially in this heat—in California we are having high temps also(don’t know where you are). Stay safe and hydrated.
Thank you! Same to you. I'm in Alabama so it's extremely hot & humid. But I'm up on a mountain and always have a good breeze. That helps.