@thumper1 it seems odd your doctor’s office isn’t getting Shingrix!
The doctors office says…it’s an expensive vaccine for them to order…and they simply aren’t getting it.
My CVS minute clinic has it and is holding one dose for me. Trying to figure a good time to get it in case I get sore or a fever afterwards. Do I want to ruin Labor day weekend?
My husband got diagnosed this morning with Shingles. Was achy all weekend and had the first little rash today. I can’t get a Shingles shot (none around, plus it is a two-part shot over several months, so I wouldn’t get immunity soon enough). Any tips on how to avoid getting it from him. To make matters worse, I honestly don’t know if I had chicken pox as a child.
Contact with someone else’s shingles rash could cause someone with no immunity to chicken pox to get chicken pox. Chicken pox can be more serious as an adult, so you may want to get a chicken pox vaccine if you believe that you are not immune to chicken pox.
Shingles can affect those who have had chicken pox, where hidden chicken pox virus escapes from wherever it is hiding in your body to cause a rash or other problems.
The day my husband was diagnosed with shingles, our nine-week-old son was admitted to the hospital with RSV. DH couldn’t visit the hospital since he was contagious. 
We also had a three-year-old son at home. DH had been recently laid off and was looking for work (the stress probably triggered the shingles!). Let’s just say it’s one of those times I’m not sure how we survived!
Our pharmacy must have gotten a big batch in. Last October the waiting list was over 140, and it went up from there. I got my first shot finally in May, and was able to get my second this week. They said there was no longer a waiting list, so DH got his first shot as a walk-in.
The second shot made me a little achy the next day. DH had shingles last year, but they recommend the shot even if you have had shingles. He said the shot made him itch in the place where the shingles popped up.
The antiviral they gave him for shingles worked wonders, you have to start it right away, though.
Edited to add: My doctor assured me that since I had chicken pox as a child my DH’s shingles posed no risk to me. We were surprised though to find we had neighbors that had not had chicken pox or the vaccine.
I did my Shingrix checking again today…none anywhere near here. No waiting lists.
DH and I got our 1st shots today. One of our local grocery stores had a sign at the front door saying they had limited doses of Shingrix. Of course, it took an email (not answered for a week) and 2 calls to my insurance co. to get the correct info on whether it would be covered 100%. Keeping firngers crossed (and took ibuprofen) that the side effects won’t be too bad.
I called Walgreen’s (my insurance’s preferred provider for such things) yesterday afternoon and they had the shot in stock. Pharmacist said they were swamped and to please wait a few hours. I went in around 6:30 pm to get the shot and thought I would sleep through any side effects. I started feeling just a little out of sorts a few hours later and that lasted until 2 am. My arm is sore, but I’m taking that as a signal that I’m supposed to spend the day reading & watching television.
I went to Target to get a flu shot and asked about Shingrix. They said yes it was in stock and I could get it at the same time as the flu shot but it would cost $161 because Medicare doesn’t cover it and my Part D only covers $8 of it. The second shot will cost the same.
Is that what those of you with Medicare have been paying for Shingrix? I’m happy to pay it if necessary but should I call my Part D to make sure?
Update here - husband is going on week 4 of shingles. Still in bad pain across his midsection. The rash is definitely healing (mostly scabbed). This is even after having taken 10 days of antiviral. I have gotten myself on a shingles shot waiting list.
My Medicare RX doesn’t cover the Shingrix vaccine at all. Not even $8.
I paid about $50 for first shot. I haven’t had the second, and it’s been well over 9 months.
As I noted in a previous post, I had to pay for my Shringrix shot and submit a claim form to my (hmo) insurance. The cost of the shot was $169. Got the reimbursement check this week!
I had to pay $30 for each of my parents 1st fose Shingrix shots. I called insurer later and was told I should not have been charged as their private insurance that they have as well as Medicare A/B covered the balance in full so got full refund.
H had his covered 100% with his private insurance + A/B.
I didn’t get a breakdown as to how it was covered 100% for any of them.
DH just got his first shot last month while still on private insurance that covered it 100%. He’ll be on Medicare by the time he gets the 2nd shot and found out that it would cost him around $160. Glad he at least got the first shot on our current insurance. He never bothered to check into this until it was too late to get both shots while he still had private insurance.
Just got my first shot today, along with my flu shot in the other arm (arms should be pretty useless tomorrow, LOL. Have to wait a week before I can get the pneumonia shot, per the nurse.
I got my flu shot last week. The pharmacy is out of the shingles shot. They said they get them in every few weeks and they go within a few hours. I guess I could call around to a few different pharmacies to check.
I was shocked that they had the shingrix in, so grabbed it while they did. I’d actually gone in for a flu shot. Oh and I had a shingrix prescription - from last October.