My doctor told me the shingles vaccine will lower your immune system substantially and older folks, if taking it, need to be be very vigilant about not being around people they could contract Covid if they decide to take it. He said since he was in his late 50's he was not going to take the shingles vaccine this year, due to the nature of his job, but older folks need to be very careful.

I don't think I have to worry about the shingles vaccine, since I've never had chicken pox. Hopefully...

I'm 60, sort of on the cusp. That's why I haven't gotten it earlier. But both my parents had horrible bouts of shingles and some other folks I have known. Contributed to the death of two folks i knew in their late 80's. i had chicken pox as a child. My dad was able to get the vaccine at the Veteran's Hospital in a nearby town. Not sure why they gave it to him since he already had a bad bout in his late 50's. But I have heard you can get it again. They just gave him the shot, never asked him if he had shingles before . . .

If I can't get the shot anywhere I will just have to hope for the best. Not having the same issue with flu or pneumonia vaccines, those are quite available here.

If you've never had chicken pox you can't get shingles. I thought I'd never had it either but I had the antibody test before getting a shingles vaccine and it confirmed I'd had chicken pox. I remember discussions about it with my mother when I was a kid - about not ever having it - but apparently it was a subclinical case.

I've never heard of Shingrix lowering your immunity. However it can be contraindicated in people who are immunocompromised such as those who take immunosuppressant medication for RA, etc.

I can't find any information that says that the shingles vaccine can weaken your immune system.

I did read that if you already have a weak immune system that it may not be advisable to get the shingles vaccine.

Interesting that you mention that 3Katz. Shingles, chicken pox, cold sores, herpes are all type of the same virus group, and can be asymptomatic in certain people and also be spread asymptomatically. I say this because I know of someone who came down with genital herpes and had not had sex with anyone, symptomatic or otherwise . . . for a long, long time. It had obviously been dormant in both the spreader and the infected person . . . scary stuff. Viruses go into your cells, and can hide out there . . . they stop replicating but then something triggers them to reactivate and to be able to start spreading around into your cells again. You may not be able to mount the same immune response the second time. In fact, that may be what triggers the virus to become active again, the lowering of immunity. That's why sometimes people who are sick with one thing come down with shingles again. That's what happened to the people I said that shingles contributed to their deaths. They just couldn't mount the immune response to what they had and then all sorts of other immune problems started cropping up . . .

“Sometimes medical information obtained from a Home Decorating board can be in error. Dangerous perhaps?” This just said by a medical doctor sitting across from me.

She had no problems for me, an old person of 70, receiving the ShIngrix vaccines. Because my immune system seems to be normal, and I am not in treatment for cancer.

Like any older patient she recommends that I not knowingly expose myself to Covid and to be religious in wearing a mask. And to get the flu shot, Shingles Vaccine or not.

Lucky that you have a doctor who offers a full range of shots Maddilee. That was one of the things I posted about earlier, my quest to even find a doctor's office that offered flu or pneumonia, let alone shingles. I thought I had found one but then out of the blue they called me and said the PA that I would be seeing quit the office. Now I can't get in until late Nov. I continue to seek out both a new doctor and access to vaccines in my poor rural area . . . I was told by my old doctor's new office that she would be back in business next week. Last time I called they said beginning of Oct. Meanwhile I have an appt. end of Oct. with another doctor who may become my new primary physician. They offer no shots in their office . . . sigh. I am sort of doctor-less right now . . . but even with a doctor, who knows about shots. Previously I just got the yearly flu shots at my doctor's office and didn't worry about the shingles vaccine much.

Pink, I go to the pharmacy to receive the vaccines, my doctor doesn’t keep them on hand. .(The pharmacies compete for the honor, offering gift cards and merchandise discounts.)

Yes, the point of my original post is that the shingles shot is not available yet at my local pharmacies, (there are two in my area that offer the shots). But I am on the call list so as soon as they become available, both my husband and I will apparently get a call . . . I live in a poor rural area. If we get desperate, hubs and I will travel the 45 miles or more to the nearest big city if they have the shingles shots available. I haven't gotten to that point yet, but will update if I do . . .

Why not make a day of it and drive to the big city, get a shot, do whatever shopping you can’t do locally, and admire the fall scenery? You can wear masks and be as careful as possible. It seems in the past, you‘ve mentioned how limited the shopping is for you in your location, here’s a chance to have multiple reasons to go to the city.

I happen to know three different people who had shingles in their early 30s! one had partial facial paralysis, which wound up being permanent for her. scary.

olliesmom -- I wonder if you haven't had chicken pox, are you eligible for the chicken pox vaccine? it's supposedly more severe in adults.

Like you said, you are in a rural area, and there may be short supply. I don't think they would have offered it to us on Saturday if it was in short supply, and clearly they had it. CVS is great for immunizations.

I finally was feeling back to normal yesterday.

We may head into the big city one of these days. Have to get the tomatoes all finished first. We are greenhousing them for a while to get the last of the harvest. I'm canning them in various ways. This will now be three things on my "to do" list for the city. The other two are fixing things that we can no longer get repaired locally. Then I'll probably hit the nurseries, but mostly to ogle. Hope we can get on the road before it gets too cold. Fall is barreling down on us here in MI. I'll at least call this week to even see if they have the vaccine available in the town I need to visit for the repairs. It's Kalamazoo.

ILoveMod, I do need to check that out.

Ipink, Here is a Shingrix locator for Kalamazoo, including a couple of CVS stores. Call to confirm: https://www.shingrix.com/shingles-vaccine-locator.html?q=49001

Get the CVS app on your phone and you can easily schedule an appointment for vaccines. I just scheduled flu and Shingrix vaccines for DH and I. You can pick any CVS and see availability. The CVS I chose is located in a Target, so in addition to the free vaccine we also get a $5 Target gift card.

I already scheduled a vaccine at my local CVS. They will text me when it becomes available. I have the CVS app but as I mentioned, I have not yet started looking for distant CVS locations. I don't live in a big urban area, have to travel about 45 min. to reach the outskirts of one. CVS is where my husband's supplemental plan covers his medications, so we are always on the lookout for where the CVS is wherever we are.

Also, ask the pharmacy where you are on the list and to estimate how many doses they receive each month. This way, you can forecast the time frame. And, I would check back with the pharmacy to ensure your name is moving in the right direction. If your local pharmacy is a long wait, I would let your “fingers do the walking” and start calling EVERY CVS that could work for you.