Zostavax Shingles Vaccine in Vancouver

Vancouver Herpes Zoster Vaccination

As a child, odds are you had chicken pox – a viral infection with acute, but short-lived, side effects caused by the varicella zoster virus.

Once chicken pox resolved itself, the symptoms disappeared, but the virus stayed dormant in your system. This virus can come back years later to cause shingles (a.k.a. zona, or herpes zoster) – a severe and painful rash with blisters that is limited to an area on one side of the body; often presenting itself in the form of a stripe.

Shingles is a painful condition which can last for 2 to 4 weeks before resolving itself, but for more than half of shingles sufferers over the age of 60, shingles can progress into post-herpetic neuralgia, which may cause residual nerve pain that may last for months or even years.

New Shingles Vaccination
Merck Frosst has developed a new vaccine called Zostavax which has been shown to reduce the incidence of shingles in individuals over 60 years of age by 51 per cent.

Additionally, for those who are vaccinated and develop shingles later on, Zostavax reduces the incidence of severe and long-lasting zoster-associated pain by 73 per cent compared with those who do not get vaccinated.

Who Should Get the Shingles Vaccine?
Men and women over 60 years of age who have had chicken pox in the past.

Zostavax is not covered by Medicare.

Call us now to get Zostavax, the shingles vaccine, in Vancouver: (604) 681-2400.