New shingles vaccine offers reliable protection

Shingrix, a newly approved shingles vaccine, is recommended for all healthy adults age 50 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even if you had a shingles vaccination of Zostavax, the vaccine in use since 2006, you should get two shots of Shingrix, six months apart.

It also doesn’t matter if you have had shingles or if you do not know if you had chicken pox or not. The CDC recommends you get the new shingles shot.

On the other hand, you should not get the vaccine if you have tested negative for immunity to varicella zoster, the shingles virus. If you test negative, you should get the chickenpox vaccine.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women should not have the vaccine and those who currently have shingles should not get the vaccine.

If you have the first of the two Shingrix shots, and you have an allergic reaction, do not get the second.

Two doses of Shingrix in adults ages 50 to 69 was 97 percent effective in preventing shingles and protection remained strong four years later.