Shingrex will be free for 2023 Medicare.
I had a very mild case of Shingles 2 years ago and it gave me immunity for about 2 years. So happy that I can get the shots next year for free as my Part D plan has a large deductible for this shot.
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Just as well I’m putting off my second shot as long as possible (first shot was mid-August). I paid about $48 as the deductible on my first shot.
Wow. I got mine at 57 so can’t imagine having waited for Medicare. Know too many people who got shingles in their 50’s or early 60’s.
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Get that vaccine; had shingles when I was early 50s; worst thing ever. And yeah, it can come back.
So I jumped on Shingrix; luckily my work’s regular health insurance covered it fully even though I wasn’t the “correct” age yet.
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How is that?
I had shingles MANY times during the same year and never got any immunity. My daughter was born in Jan and I immediately got shingles (high stress). Every time we thought it cleared I got another outbreak. And then another. Sometimes it would be a month or two between outbreaks but the flares always came back.
I wish there was immunity. I also asked repeatedly if getting the vaccine would prevent outbreaks and no one could ever answer. Pharmacists, doctors, eye doctor, no answers. Finally I asked last year and an eye doctor said it probably wouldn’t prevent shingles but it couldn’t hurt and may prevent other strains. So I got the shots.
What it does help with is cold sores. I never get those anymore.
That’s what my family physician said.
I had the Zostavax shingles vaccine in my 50s so when I had shingles 2 years ago my condition was very very mild, just a bit of nerve pain around a small area on my abdomen and no blisters. I have not gotten it again. Whether it will be activated again will be dependent on one’s immune system. That is probably the reason why no one can give you a definitive answer.
After having had flare ups so many times, I can say the good news is I know when they are coming and I have pills and a cream for any blisters that make it go away very quickly. LIve and learn (the painful way).
I waited because I (and my mother) thought I never had chicken pox. Then I recently got a test and somewhere along the way I picked up antibodies. Ergo - Shingrex shot at age 70.
As a child I had perhaps the mildest case of chickenpox ever – I was barely sick enough to even know that I had it. I could have missed the fact that I was ever sick at all.
Then as an adult after a string of jet-lag inducing travel I had shingles. It is really unpleasant. Yes, you can get it more than once.
I highly recommend the shingles vaccine for anyone who has had (or might have had) chickenpox.
I paid $185 for Costco to inject me with Zostervax when i was 50 because it wasn’t yet fda recommended for for age 50. I had Shingrix covered by my insurer when it came around and would have paid out of pocket. Everyone I know who has had shingles was utterly miserable and I was not interested in getting it.
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Me too. I had exactly 3 chicken pox. Antibody tests were done when I was thinking about having children. Those three pox gave me the antibodies.
I had the first shingles vaccine…and Shingrix as well.
Well, from this quick CC survey (including myself) I wouldn’t suggest waiting until 65 to get the shot. It’s AWFUL to get shingles–well worth money to try to prevent it at all costs.
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Thanks for all the input on this thread (and the prior). Going to get the shingles vaccine soon…very nervous but enough stories about the awfulness of the illness are motivating!
No need to be nervous about the vaccine. I think the main reaction is a sore arm. So much better than shingles!
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@Onward - thank you!! I usually have a pretty big reaction to meds, etc. (will get most, if not all, the side-effects! 
) - so I’m really hoping this one is okay. Appreciate the encouragement!
Just as a heads up to those who might be contemplating - got the vaccine yesterday - really hit me hard the next day (no surprise, meds usually do!). Fever, muscle aches, weakness, nausea. Hopefully better soon, but maybe it will help those who are planning it (friend told me to get it right before a weekend and she was right!).
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I got my free Shingrix shot yesterday and the difference in reaction from the first shot was like night and day. First shot - extreme pain, unable to lift arm for days, low fever and fatigue - I was hesitant to even get the second shot.
But I went to a different pharmacist and discussed it with her - she agreed that a shot high on the shoulder could cause inflammation that pressed on a nerve - or something. Anyway, she gave me the shot as low in the shoulder as allowed. I went home and iced the rest of the day and took Advil. Pain is less than any of the other seven vaccinations I’ve had over the last couple of years.
Whew. I may even finally get my pneumonia vaccination later this month - now that I’ve actually had pneumonia for the first time in my life.
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Both my Shingrix shots were in the same spot on my arm but the results were the same as yours. First shot was pretty bad but the second was comparatively easy. And yeah, it made me pause for that second shot! But having shingles is a heck of a lot worse.
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I’ve been thinking about paying out of pocket for Shingrix. I’m not even 45 yet but some of my friends have gotten shingles prior to 50 and were totally miserable. I have autoimmune issues that give me (annoying but not dangerous) problems for months after I catch common viruses. I spent the first half of 2022 with a low grade fever and it sucked.
When I got my bivalent covid booster, I asked the CVS pharmacy tech if I could just sign up for Shingrix and pay for it and she said I sure can. Now I have to just decide to do it. And think of a good time to go through the misery of getting the first shot.
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Insurance may pay if you have autoimmune issues.
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