Equip Disease Shield!

Wait, there's a vaccine for shingles? Why wasn't I informed?

Probably because it's only recommended for people over 60. I want it right now!--but I guess I can wait. If I gotta.

A former colleague of mine got shingles, and it did not sound nice, and since I (like so many of us) had chicken pox as a child, I know that virus is just hanging out, waiting to make a comeback someday. If I can fend it off via wily application of a +5 Potion of Disease Resistance, I'm going to be all over that.

This reflection is prompted by a New York Times story reporting that a lot of eligible people are not getting the aforementioned shingles vaccine because it's expensive and not necessarily covered by insurance.

Also, doctors are tending not to stock it because it's expensive and therefore difficult to sell, so even if you do want it and are willing to pay for it, it's a hassle since you have to get a prescription from the doctor and then go somewhere else to get the shot.

The NYT story says that "up to a third of all adults who have had chicken pox" will get shingles and/or a complication called postherpetic neuralgia (which sounds like basically just nonstop pain for weeks or months at a time) at some point, while the vaccine can "reduce the risk of developing shingles by more than half and the risk of post-herpetic neuralgia by over two-thirds."

Ideally, of course, I like my vaccines even more awesome than that (maybe by the time I'm 60 they'll have the +10 version!), but it still seems as if a lot of people might benefit if not for the expense and inconvenience.

There are still a few years between me and 60, so I have time to save up and plan ahead, but that doesn't help anyone who's eligible right now.

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