Below is the letter I wrote and sent to the contacts listed below to fight for the option of the population under age 50 to obtain the shingles shot. If you want to also send the letter click on the links and also forward to anyone you think will also send demand letter. Let's make a movement :)
Done: Board of Pharmacy: contact, send communication for that state ex. Nevada https://bop.nv.gov/contact/Contact_Us/
Done-copy/pasted emails Immunization Coalitions Network, staff emails: https://www.immunizationcoalitions.org/
Done: Government: https://www.vaccines.gov/contact-us.html
Done: CDC: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/dcs/contactus/form
Done: copy/pasted email FDA: https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/center-drug-evaluation-and-research-cder/cder-contact-information
To Healthcare Representative:
There is a population under age 50 that has been undervalued by the CDC, FDA, State Board of Pharmacy, and Coalitions by not acknowledging the effects on the quality of life by an outbreak of shingles (Varicella Zoster Virus). As other virus, like Covid-19, is being quickly addressed and recommended to people as young as 12 years old. Making the Shingrix vaccination available to people under the age of 50 who have had Chicken Pox can also be prevented. Or if a person under age 50 has had shingles should be able to get the Shingrix vaccine to help build anti-bodies as this population should be considered as vulnerable and are listed under the CDC and FDA as “Special Populations” where shingles does attack the body multiple times with the onset of the first outbreak.
CDC states “any person born before 1980 can develop shingles.” This statement justifies a change in the rule that only people 50 and older can receive the shingles shot even with a doctor’s note. Pharmacies are denying the preventive care.
“National Shingles Foundation reports that nearly one million individuals develop shingles in the U.S. each year”
“National Shingles Foundation are unsure what triggers the reemergence of the varicella-zoster.” Those over 50 mentioned that they has weakened immune system, so more likely to develop shingles. This should apply to the population under 50 as the number of outbreaks of shingles is increasing.
Immunization Action Coalition on vaccineinformation.org stats reveals: “How effective is the Shingrix vaccine? In clinical trials Shingrix reduced the occurrence of shingles by 97% among people 50 years and older. “Do zoster vaccines prevent post-herpetic neuralgia? Both Zostavax and Shingrix were shown to reduce the risk of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). Zostavax reduced the overall occurrence of PHN by 66%, whereas Shingrix reduced the overall occurrence of PHN by 89%.
CDC, 2017, “The CDC analysis was conducted from a societal perspective over a lifetime. It estimated that vaccination with RZV, compared with no vaccination, cost $31,000 per quality adjusted life year (QALY), on average, for immunocompetent adults aged ≥50 years.”
CDC, 2017, “post-herpetic neuralgia, commonly defined as persistent pain for at least 90 days following the resolution of the herpes zoster rash, is the most common complication and occurs in 10%–13% of herpes zoster cases in persons aged >50 years (3,4).”
CDC, 2018, Special Populations
“Persons with a history of herpes zoster. Herpes zoster can recur. Adults with a history of herpes zoster should receive RZV. If a patient is experiencing an episode of herpes zoster, vaccination should be delayed until the acute stage of the illness is over and symptoms abate. Studies of safety and immunogenicity of RZV in this population are ongoing.”
CDC, July 2020, “Zoster is caused by reactivation of latent zoster virus infection from a prior chickenpox infection. People who have had a prior infection with varicella zoster virus (chickenpox) are at risk of shingles.”
CDC, July 2020, “Special Situations: immunocompromising conditions-apply to those who had a shingles outbreak under age 50 and should be available *recommended use of RZV under review.”
FDA, 2017, On October 20, 2017, Zoster Vaccine Recombinant, Adjuvanted (Shingrix, GlaxoSmithKline, [GSK] Research Triangle Park, North Carolina), a 2-dose, subunit vaccine containing recombinant glycoprotein E in combination with a novel adjuvant (AS01B), was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of herpes zoster in adults aged ≥50 years. The vaccine consists of 2 doses (0.5 mL each), administered intramuscularly, 2–6 months apart (1). On October 25, 2017, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended the recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) for use in immunocompetent adults aged ≥50 years.
1 out of 5 people will be affected by shingles virus which will result in Posttherpetic Neuralgia (PHN). PHN is chronic nerve pain caused by the shingles virus that damages the nerve pathways. The severe pain can continue for months, or even years. This long-lasting pain can be so bad that it interferes with eating and sleeping. Some people with severe pain from shingles have even committed suicide. Although some medicines can help treat shingles, there is not cures.
I implore that the CDC and FDA, as they already have acknowledged the importance of preventive care, so reality is that the under 50 population is at risk so should have access to the Shingles vaccine. The other under 50 population who have already experienced Shingles and PHN is at risk of another outbreak so should have access to the Shingles vaccine.
Signed by Sufferer:
Tanya Attebery
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