Advice for Pharmacists to Discuss with Patients Regarding the Shingles Vaccine

In this video, Ed Cohen, PharmD, who is Executive Vice President of Pharmacy Advocacy for Pharmacy Times, discusses tips from the CDC for pharmacists who get questions from patients on the shingles vaccine.

Transcript:

According to the CDC website: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine) over Zostavax (zoster vaccine live) for the prevention of herpes zoster (shingles) and related complications. In clinical studies, the results of the recombinant zoster vaccine showed that 2 doses administered 2 months apart had an efficacy of 97.2% in reducing the risk of herpes compared with placebo. The zoster vaccine live had an initial efficacy of 51%, which increased slightly in phase 4 studies. As a result, the ACIP has replaced zoster vaccine live with recombinant zoster vaccine as its first-line recommendation for the prevention of shingles. If patients have previously received a dose of zoster vaccine live, they should be revaccinated with the recombinant zoster vaccine. Another difference between the 2 vaccines is that zoster vaccine live is a 1-dose (0.5-mL) vaccine, while 2 doses (0.5 mL) must be given for the recombinant zoster vaccine. The second dose must be given within 2 to 6 months of the first dose. Also, zoster vaccine live is a live attenuated vaccine approved for patients 60 years and older, while recombinant zoster vaccine is recombinant and approved for patients 50 years and older. According to the CDC, increased zoster vaccine demand has resulted in intermittent shipping delays; for more information on vaccine shortages, consult the CDC's vaccine shortages and delays website for more information.