[fegu]

Very interesting. I got this vaccine (needs to be taken twice) last year. Since then my back pain linked to possible beginning bechterews, which I have had for about a year, is gone and has stayed away for 2 months now. Could be unrelated, but it is so pronounced that I have been looking for an explanation. Very happy with it.

[Qem]

I tried to take it, but was refused because I'm still under the age of 50. Will try to convince a doctor to prescribe me.

[tmhn2]

I think one reason it's discouraged is that it's not completely clear how long it lasts, and getting it early may result in less protection later in life. Also it's only been tested in that age group. (At least, this is what I heard when I researched getting it early a while ago).

[robocat]

> it's not completely clear how long it lasts

This explanation assumes we won't develop a better vaccine in a decade.

Shingrix was expensive. I knew too many people with horrific Shingles.

A couple of days of very mild flu symptoms for me.

Plan to avoid mental or physical responsibilities or events for 2 days after the shot.

[EvanAnderson]

This is what my GP told me too, basically. I would really like the vaccine. I'm 48 and I feel like I'm rolling the dice...

[Qem]

> I think one reason it's discouraged is that it's not completely clear how long it lasts, and getting it early may result in less protection later in life.

Can't one just take boosters later, like, one every decade?

[happymellon]

https://www.ncoa.org/article/how-long-does-the-shingles-vacc...

> No Shingrix vaccine booster is currently available.

No, I'm not sure you can.

[Findecanor]

Ironically, I caught it just a few weeks before I turned 50.

If you do catch it, it is important that you get antiviral medication as soon as possible to avoid long-term pain afterwards. I had waited three days to see a a doctor because symptoms breaking out at the start of a weekend, and that was close.

[xingped]

You can absolutely get shingles at any time. Please keep looking to find a doctor that will listen to you. The fact that medicine holds onto this idea that it only affects old people is absurd.

[mordechai9000]

Just anecdotes, but I know two people who got it in their 40s, and one of them has some minor facial paralysis that he believes is probably permanent. I got the vaccine when I turned 50.

[reverendjames]

They won't let you until you turn 50, I tried. If you do get it before then, the doctor could get into trouble. That's what I was told.

[replwoacause]

Why would a doctor refuse to prescribe it before 50? Is there a harm to receiving it “early”?

[rippeltippel]

In countries where vaccines are paid for by the state (partially or fully) doctors won't prescribe them unless there's a statistically significant benefit across the entire population. If it's generally accepted that shingles is more common/risky over 50, guidelines will prevent doctors from offering the vaccine before that age, essentially not to "waste" public money.

[happymellon]

This is untrue.

In the UK everyone turning 65 is offered the vaccine on the NHS.

The problem is that long term effectiveness generally drops in vaccine. Although we haven't had Shingrix long enough to give great estimates long term evidence of this we have this:

https://www.ncoa.org/article/how-long-does-the-shingles-vacc...

> No Shingrix vaccine booster is currently available.

So if you get it when you are 50, it will be less effective when you are 80 and more vulnerable to shingles. It has nothing to do with "being state funded" and everything to do with giving it to people when they need it rather than wasting it on people who don't, who then can't have it when they actually do need it.

[willmacdonald]

I'm about to get my second shot of Shingrix. In the clinic it says it lasts for about 12 years. I think it just means you can return in 12 years.

[happymellon]

You might want to check with your doctor about that, as that is not what the NCOA is implying.

I would really like to be wrong, as the shingles vaccine is less than £500 privately in the UK for both shots, and that would be worth it to not get shingles.

[rippeltippel]

> In the UK everyone turning 65 is offered the vaccine on the NHS.

That's precisely my point: you're not offered one before 50.