MPH’s Schaffer comments on why the shingles vaccine hasn’t caught on
People who live to age 85 have a 50-50 chance of developing the excruciating rash known as shingles, yet the vaccine that cuts the risk remains unpopular. In 2015, only about 34 percent of adults 65 and over had ever gotten the shot, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting Wednesday. The rate has been inching up since 2006, when Merck launched the shingles vaccine, called Zostavax.
William Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, has studied why the vaccine has not gained popularity. As medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, an educational organization, he serves as a liaison to the CDC’s immunization advisory committee, which makes vaccine recommendations that shape insurance coverage.