Giving a stillborn child a longer embrace
Finding a place to get your first shot of the shingles vaccine, or second required dose, is getting as difficult as scoring “Hamilton” tickets.
In South Florida alone, many pharmacy outlets at chains like Publix and Walgreens and at UHealth have reported problems obtaining vaccines and waiting lists are growing.
The vaccine’s manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, acknowledged in November that “demand has exceeded supply” but that “there have been no manufacturing issues.”
The shortage problem for the Shingrix vaccine is nationwide, reports Healthline. “The shortage of Shingrix appears to be due largely to an unprecedented demand for the
The death of a child is nearly always devastating and typically followed by an outpouring of support while parents mourn. But when a baby dies before it is born or shortly thereafter, parents are often alone in a hospital with a limited source of comfort and little, if any, opportunity to say goodbye to the baby – or babies.
Enter the CuddleCot, a kind of refrigerated baby bed that helps preserve the body of a deceased newborn for days. The device gives parents a chance to bond with their babies – to love and hold them, take pictures, even take them home and take them for walks, creating memories to last a lifetime.
Chris and Emily Fricker of Pingree Grove, Illinois, whose twin babies, Sylas and Sybil, were born too early to survive more than 90 minutes, were helped so much by a CuddleCot that last month they donated one to Centegra Northwestern Hospital in McHenry, Illinois, to benefit other parents with similar losses.
Mary Kay Horney, a labor and delivery nurse at the hospital, said her family’s experience reinforced the value of this donation. “My mother’s first child died at birth,” she told me. “She never got to see the baby, and her intense grief turned into depression and alcoholism.”
A 2016 study in Michigan of 377 bereaved women whose babies were stillborn or died soon after birth found that they were four times more likely to be
drug,” the health website said.
The vaccine is a two-step process: the first shot, then a second shot two to six months later. Shingrix is recommended for adults 50 and over to prevent shingles (aka herpes zoster), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Shingrix is more than 90 percent effective in preventing shingles, the CDC said.
Shingrix is the preferred drug to help prevent shingles, which is characterized by a painful rash and is caused by a reactivation of the varicella zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. People who are most susceptible are those who have had chickenpox, and it’s more common in people over 50, but children can develop shingles, too.
According to the CDC, almost 1 out of 3 people in the United States will develop shingles at some point. There are an estimated 1 million cases of shingles every year in the U.S. Though there has been some difficulty obtaining Shingrix, there is no significant upshot or epidemic in cases.
Still, many people want the vaccine — especially those who got the first dose in the summer of 2018 and are now overdue.
“Due to high levels of demand for the GSK’s Shingrix vaccine, GSK has implemented order limits and providers have experienced shipping delays.,” said Kristen Nordlund, spokeswoman for the CDC.
The forecast isn’t especially glowing, either.
“It is anticipated order limits and shipping delays will continue throughout 2019,” Nordlund said.
In response, GSK increased the U.S. supply for 2018 and plans to make even more doses available in the U.S. in 2019, the CDC added. “Additionally, GSK will continue to release doses to all customer types on a consistent and predictable schedule during 2019.”
GSK spokesman Sean Clements told Healthline that the pharmaceutical company plans to ship “large volumes” of the vaccine twice monthly to providers and is “planning on bringing significantly more doses to the United States for 2019 compared to” 2018.
GSK said about seven million doses of Shingrix were administered globally since 2017, and nearly two-thirds, or 70 percent, of the recipients completed both recommended dosages.
“Shingrix has been met by unprecedented demand by healthcare providers and patients,” Clements told Healthline. “Providers are immunizing patients at a rate several times what was previously seen for shingles. Because of this demand, patients may find their provider or pharmacy is temporarily out of stock. They should check back often or ask the pharmacy to contact them when they are restocked.”
That bit of news is welcomed by Publix. The Lakeland-based grocery store chain is a major provider of medications, including the elusive Shingrix.
Signs at many Publix pharmacies, right by the cash registers, beckon, “Beware, shingles. Beware. ... Recommended for all adults over 50. Let’s make life easy.”
But it’s not been that easy.
“Publix Pharmacy operations is distributing the vaccine to stores as soon as it’s received from the manufacturer and our pharmacy managers are calling customers on the waiting lists as the vaccine supply is received at the store,” said Nicole Krauss, Publix Super Markets’ community relations manager for the Miami division.
The University of Miami has taken to prioritizing shots at its UHealth clinics.
“There is a nationwide shortage of the shingles vaccine, Shingrix, primarily due to unprecedented demand. Like all health providers, we receive our allocation of the shingles vaccine from the manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline. Because of the limited supply, we are prioritizing our dosages for those patients who would be most seriously impacted by a case of shingles. At this time, several of the UHealth clinics at Walgreens across South Florida have vaccine doses. Each patient should check with their healthcare provider for availability,” UHealth said in a statement.
So what do you do while you wait?
Try to chill, health officials say. And keep tapping that Shingrix Vaccine Finder site on the internet to see when your provider received a shipment.
“You should make every effort to get the second dose of Shingrix between two and six months after you got the first dose,” the CDC’s Nordlund said.. “If your doctor or pharmacist is out of Shingrix, you can use the Vaccine Finder to help find other providers who have Shingrix. You can also contact pharmacies in your area and request to be put on a waiting list for Shingrix if they do not have the vaccine in stock.”
Though that second dose is necessary to make that first shot fully effective, don’t despair — and don’t give up, the CDC said.
“If it’s been more than six months since you got the first dose, you should get the second dose as soon as possible,” Nordlund said. “You don’t need to restart the vaccine series.”
Publix plans to remain diligent, Krauss said.
“We continue to look to the CDC for the latest regarding dosage guidelines and encourage customers/ patients to follow their recommendation,” she said. “... We are committed to getting the vaccine out to customers as readily as it becomes available.”
WHO SHOULD GET THE SHINGLES VACCINE
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people age 50 and older receive two doses of the Shingrix shingles vaccine. The CDC recommends the administration of two doses of Shingrix within a two- to six-month period or a single dose of Zostavax, another vaccine for shingles that has been promoted for people 60 and older. The CDC and health experts say Shingrix is preferred over Zostavax.
People who have had an adverse reaction toa previous dose of Shingrix are advised not to get the vaccine or can consider the Zostavax vaccine, which has been approved since 2006. Shingrix was not studied on pregnant or nursing women so some healthcare providers may not recommend they get the vaccine.
EFFECTIVENESS
According to the CDC, in adults 50 to 69 years old who received two doses, Shingrix was 97 percent effective in preventing shingles; among adults 70 years and older, Shingrix was 91 percent effective. Protection from the Shingrix vaccine lasts about four years and five years for the Zostavax vaccine, according to the CDC.
SHINGLES SYMPTOMS
People usually have tingling, itching and pain in the area where the rash will develop one to five days before a shingles rash develops, the CDC says.
The rash most often forms in a single vertical stripe on the right or left side of the body.
Sometimes the rash forms on the face and can affect the eye and cause vision loss.
Symptoms can also present themselves through an upset stomach, headache, fever and chills.
TRANSMISSION
The shingles rash consists of blisters that typically scab over in seven to 10 days and clears up within two to four weeks, according to the CDC.
Shingles, which some have described as “a burning
than chickenpox and covering the rash minimizes the risk of transmission.
SIDE EFFECTS OF THE VACCINE
Shingrix side effects can include pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site. Also, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever and upset stomach. Tell your healthcare provider if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding.
IF YOU HAVE SHINGLES
Keep the rash covered.
Avoid touching or scratching the rash, even if tempted.
Avoid contact with pregnant women who have never had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine or premature or low birth weight infants or people with weakened immune systems.
SHINGRIX VACCINE LOCATOR
You can type in your location and this Shingrix.Com site will advise you about the availability of the Shingrix vaccine in your area.
Visit the Vaccine Locator: https://www. shingrix.com/shinglesvaccine-locator. html?q=33173.
But there is no guarantee that the site, updated weekly, will be accurate. Some of the listed locations may still be out of stock, so you ought to call before driving over.
For frequently asked questions about Shingrix, visit the CDC.
Howard Cohen: 305-376-3619, @HowardCohen