Demand for new shingles vaccine exceeds supply

Shingrix, the vaccine approved last year to prevent shingles, has proved so popular that its maker, GlaxoSmithKline, has not been able to produce it quickly enough to keep up with the demand.

The vaccine is recommended for most people over 50. However, many are having trouble getting it. The company says there are no manufacturing problems; it just didn’t expect so many consumers to want the vaccine.

“Uptake was very, very quick, and enthusiasm was very high,” said a company spokesman, Sean Clements.

People are eager to avoid shingles. It causes a rash that can be extremely painful, itchy and debilitating, and it sometimes leaves nerve damage that can produce pain lasting months or years. Most likely to develop in people after age 50, shingles occurs when the chickenpox virus, which goes dormant after the childhood illness, is reactivated.

In studies, two Shingrix injections, two to six months apart, were more than 90 percent effective at preventing the rash and close to 90 percent effective at warding off the nerve complications. That made it far more effective than an earlier shingles vaccine.

The shortfalls are particularly irksome to those who have received the first shot and been unable to get the second one.

Ralph Stern, 81, in Orange, Connecticut, said he and his wife had their first injections in April but have not been able to track down a second dose.

“I want to be in the (time) window where you had a record of success,” he said. “I want what they recommended, and then they can’t do it.”

Dr. Kathleen L. Dooling, a shingles expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said people who miss the six-month mark for their second shot should just get it as soon as possible. There is no reason to start over: A total of two is enough.

GlaxoSmithKline said in an emailed statement: “Patients can use the Shingrix Vaccine Finder at Shingrix.com to locate providers or pharmacies that have been offering the vaccine.”