Who says there isn’t a funny side to the miserable chicken pox-related virus known as Shingles or Herpes Zoster? A Baristanet reader came across this photo on the website Fail Blog.org last Friday.
Amidst confusion about what the disease is (really, if you’ve had it, you’ll know it’s no laughing matter), the truncated Cedar Grove municipal message got a few chuckles from commenters.
Obviously, the sign posters meant to imply immunizations, rather than roof tiles or infection with the disease itself, which often causes debilitating chronic pain.
The Montclair Department of Health and Human Services will offer a Shingles vaccination clinic on Wednesday August 24, by appointment only. The cost of the vaccine is $175. The town website indicates that the CDC recommends a single dose of the zoster vaccine for adults 50 years of age* and older, even if they’ve had a prior episode of shingles.
Additionally, the Montclair Health Department will offer a free vaccine program for all students entering sixth grade (bring your child’s immunization records to the clinic) and eligible adults regardless of insurance status. Clinics will be held Wednesday July 27, 10 a.m. – noon and Wednesday August 10, 1 – 3 p.m.
Vaccines include:
• TDaP (tetanus, diptheria, pertusis) – mandatory for sixth grade admission, also available for adults
• Menactra (meningitis) – mandatory for sixth grade admission and now a booster dose recommended for 16-18 years of age
• Gardasil (human papilloma virus) – recommended for females and male 11-26 years of age
For more information on shingles (or other health issues), or to make an appointment for the clinics, call the Montclair Health Department at 973-509-4974. All clinics will be at at 205 Claremont Avenue, Montclair.
*Note that the municipal web site indicates that the Shingles vaccine is available for people ages 50 and up, but this has been changed to 60, due to a shortage.
“*Note that the municipal web site indicates that the Shingles vaccine is available for people ages 50 and up, but this has been changed to 60, due to a shortage.”
And who says socialized medicine would result in rationing?
Why is Cedar Grove advertising for Montclair?
ROC, when you are old and toothless, stooped and feeble, and unable to collect your social security checks and medicare, you will wonder why the TeaParty tried so hard to undo the good graces of enlightened governance.
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Right of Center, in the age of budget constraints many municipalities contract with one another for some of the services. What shocked me most about NJ is that you have hundreds of small towns here – having that many health officers would be prohibitively expensive. Its similar to the manner in which Nutley contracts with Montclair for Animals Control and Shelter services as they do not have a shelter of their own, in the past Nutley contracted with Bloomfield. It’s my understanding that Nutley’s HazMat team responds to most of Baristaville’s HazMAt siutations. We’ll probably see a lot more of these shared services situations once local egos subside and fiscal responsibility rises up.
ROC, Why not at least try to get your facts straight before immediately resorting to one of your ideological talking-points? As the recent NYT article, “Why Patients Aren’t Getting the Shingles Vaccine,” made clear, the real issue with this vaccine is the *opposite* of what you’re asserting. ::
“Last month in The Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers … surveyed almost 600 primary care physicians and found that fewer than half strongly recommended the shingles vaccine. Doctors were not worried about safety — a report in the same issue of the journal confirmed that the vaccine has few side effects; rather, they were concerned about patient cost.
Although only one dose is required, the vaccination costs $160 to $195 per dose, 10 times more than other commonly prescribed adult vaccines; and insurance carriers vary in the amount they will cover. Thus, while the overwhelming majority of doctors in the study did not hesitate to strongly recommend immunizations against influenza and pneumonia, they could not do the same with the shingles vaccine.
“It’s just a shot, not a pap smear or a colonoscopy,” said Dr. Laura P. Hurley, lead author and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver. “But the fact is that it is an expensive burden for all patients, even those with private insurance and Medicare because it is not always fully reimbursed.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/health/10chen.html
It is really a shame that the vaccine is not more affordable. Having just gotten over a nasty case of shingles that affected my eye, face and scalp, I can say it was a lot more expensive than that. Between copays, and meds, I spent hundreds of dollars. I was off from work for two weeks and really wasn’t back to normal for over a month. It was excrutiatingly painful. And I am only 42, so it’s not just an illness that strikes older people. I would encourage everyone to get the vaccine. It is well-worth the expense.
I heard that in Nutley people who get shingles are told to replace it with vinyl siding.