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Originally Posted by Parker
I've heard that you must have a doctor's order to get the Shingles vaccine. My doctor does not recommend the vaccine and so I haven't gotten it. Can you get the vaccine on your own?
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I don't believe you need an order from your physician to get the shot. You can obtain it at local pharmacies. However, the bigger issue is why are you staying with a doctor who ignores the wisdom of every national organization that deals with vaccines (except chiropractors and some other non-allopathic fields). There is some concern with efficacy as mentioned by others above. It is not 100% effective with preventing shingles. It will lower your risk of shingles by about 50% and lowers the risk of severe pain with shingles by even more. It would make we wonder about the ability of your doctor to keep up to date and evaluate medical literature. Of course I might be wrong and there is some obscure reason why s/he does not recommend it for you specifically.
The only thought I would add at this point is that the duration of protection is unknown. The older you are when you receive a vaccination the less of a response you get. Additionally your natural immunity from having had chicken pox is fading. I think you will be hearing future recommendations for a booster dose of the shingles vaccine perhaps every 10 years.