Plan B Forum

Robert Malone—a medical doctor and an infectious-disease researcher—recently suggested that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines might actually make COVID-19 infections worse. He chuckled as he imagined Anthony Fauci announcing that the vaccination campaign was all a big mistake (“Oh darn, I was wrong!”) and would need to be abandoned. When he floated that nightmare scenario during a recent podcast interview with Steve Bannon, both men seemed almost delighted at the prospect of public-health officials and pharmaceutical companies getting their comeuppance. “This is a catastrophe,” Bannon declared, beaming at his guest. “You’re hearing it from an individual who invented the mRNA [vaccine] and has dedicated his life to vaccines. He’s the opposite of an anti-vaxxer.”

invented the mRNA [vaccine]

there is no registry of who has been vaccinated with what and when.

BoSoxGal wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 26, 2021 6:17 pm

I hope all you oldsters who are eligible (50+) are considering or have already gotten your shingles vaccine; of all the folks I’ve cared for in my adventures in patient care, those suffering from shingles were in the most (preventable) agony.

What Everyone Should Know about the Shingles Vaccine (Shingrix)
Shingles vaccination is the only way to protect against shingles and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most common complication from shingles. CDC recommends that healthy adults 50 years and older get two doses of the shingles vaccine called Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine), separated by 2 to 6 months, to prevent shingles and the complications from the disease. Your doctor or pharmacist can give you Shingrix as a shot in your upper arm.

Shingrix provides strong protection against shingles and PHN. Two doses of Shingrix is more than 90% effective at preventing shingles and PHN. Protection stays above 85% for at least the first four years after you get vaccinated.

How Can I Pay For Shingrix?
There are several ways shingles vaccine may be paid for:

Medicare
Medicare Part D plans cover the shingles vaccine, but there may be a cost to you depending on your plan. There may be a copay for the vaccine, or you may need to pay in full then get reimbursed for a certain amount.
Medicare Part B does not cover the shingles vaccine.

Medicaid
Medicaid may or may not cover the vaccine. Contact your insurer to find out.

Private health insurance
Many private health insurance plans will cover the vaccine, but there may be a cost to you depending on your plan. Contact your insurer to find out.

Vaccine assistance programs
Some pharmaceutical companies provide vaccines to eligible adults who cannot afford them. You may want to check with the vaccine manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, about Shingrix.

Joe Guy wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 26, 2021 8:48 pm

I’ve had the shingles vaccine. My doctor recommended that I wait and get a newer and supposedly more effective version of the vaccine in a couple years. If I recall correctly, I think he was not sure about the ‘more effective’ claim since it is relatively new.

WASHINGTON — In an unusually close vote, an advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday recommended the use of a new vaccine to prevent shingles over an older one that was considered less effective.

The decision was made just days after the Food and Drug Administration announced approval of the new vaccine, called Shingrix and manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, for adults ages 50 and older. The panel’s recommendation gives preference to the new vaccine over Merck’s Zostavax, which has been the only shingles vaccine on the market for over a decade and was recommended for people ages 60 and older.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also recommended that adults who have received the older vaccine get the new one. Even with the committee vote, this recommendation still awaits formal endorsement by the head of the C.D.C., which usually takes a couple of months. Insurance companies must also agree to cover the cost of the vaccine, which GSK estimates to be $280 for two doses.

According to the C.D.C., almost one of every three people in the United States will contract shingles, a viral infection that can result in a painful rash and lasting nerve damage.

The disease, also known as herpes zoster, can range in severity from barely noticeable to debilitating. It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox.

Once a person has had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive in nerve tissue. Years later, it may reactivate as shingles. The C.D.C. estimates that about one million cases are diagnosed in the United States each year.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for,” said Dr. Anne Louise Oaklander, an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and an expert in the disease. “Shingles is an unappreciated and common cause of severe problems throughout the nervous system.”

Dr. Oaklander said that while rash symptoms lead some people to consider shingles as minor as a bad sunburn, the illness can cause strokes, encephalitis, spinal cord damage and loss of vision.

Given in one dose, Zostavax had shown a 51 percent reduction in shingles and a 67 percent reduction in nerve pain. Shingrix is given in two doses, and the company said clinical trials showed it to be about 98 percent effective for one year and about 85 percent over three years.

By preventing shingles, the vaccine also drastically reduces the overall incidence of severe nerve pain, a lasting complication for about one in three people who get shingles. GlaxoSmithKline said it tested the vaccine in more than 38,000 people.

“We believe Shingrix will provide confidence in the protection one can expect from a shingles vaccine,” said Luc Debruyne, the company’s president of global vaccines.

The recommendation of the advisory committee will be considered an endorsement of Shingrix over Zostavax, although the closeness of the committee vote, 8 to 7, may mitigate the market loss for Merck.

Dr. Kathleen Dooling, a medical officer in the C.D.C.’s division of viral disease, said she expected the agency’s final recommendation to be issued early next year.

“The Shingrix vaccine has the potential to prevent tens of thousands of cases of shingles and its complications,” Dr. Dooling said.

She cautioned, however, that more people had adverse reactions to Shingrix than to Zostavax, including fever and muscle aches.

“Patients and health care providers should be aware that this vaccine is very effective, but it also causes more reactions than they may be used to with other adult vaccines,” she said. “All indications are these are not dangerous to one’s health, but they may interfere with your daily activities for a few days.”