I decided that in 2019, I would get my pair of shingles shots. As this 2018 article suggests: Shingles Is Nasty, And The New Vaccine Works Well.”
“Shingrix [an FDA-recommended brand] should be given in two doses between two and six months apart to adults who are at least 50 years old, the [Centers for Disease Control] says.”
I went to my local CVS back in April or May to get my first shot. The pharmacist, though, wouldn’t give me an injection. His supply of Shingrix was low. He was saving it for those who needed a second dose.
Now it’s June, and I’m going to retire at the end of the month. I went to the Rite Aid across the street from my office. After filling out all the insurance paperwork, I get my first shot, which cost me nothing. I’m told I’d get a call in late August when it was time to get a second one. It did not happen.
Post-retirement
I trek down to the Rite Aid in October, which is in the midst of converting to a Walgreen’s. O course, now I have to give them all my new information, my Medicare card and all the supplemental insurance. Alas, the pharmacist wasn’t there.
On my return trip in December, they can’t give me a shot because they don’t take any of my insurance. I suppose I could have insisted on getting it at the retail price, which would have been roughly $140.
Instead, the next day, I went back to the CVS. This time, I was able to get an injection, but it cost me $47 and change. Since I’m never going to get this ever again, I just paid it. It was just two weeks shy of the six month threshold.
My recommendation to my friends who are 50 and over is to get your shingles shots sooner than later. I have a friend in her thirties who’s had the condition thrice, and she was quite miserable.
Get the shots while you still have insurance, before you go on Medicare. There may have been a particular supplemental Medicare coverage that would have eliminated my out-of-pocket expense, but obviously that’s not what I picked.
I had shingles twice, once at 13, again at 55, and the second occasion WAS nasty.
I got both Shingrix shots, but had a bad reaction to it, like I had the flu for 3 days.
Regardless, I’d still recommend the inoculation.