In case you missed it: getting the #shingles #vaccine lowers your risk of dementia later in life by 20% and even slows the progress of the disease for people already suffering from Alzheimer’s.
Shingles itself is awful: painful and even mentally debilitating. So please consider getting the vaccine.
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/03/shingles-vaccination-dementia.html
I've been really thinking about getting this one but it's two doses (both of which have probable multi-day low fever for me) and I haven't been able to be incapacitated for any day in the last couple of years
@richpuchalsky I know it doesn’t help much to say it, but I had no symptoms after the shots at all.
@impermanen_ I'm turning 49 this year - think maybe the doc will stop telling me I'm too young for the shingles vaccine?
Jul 3, 2026, 7:37 PM@SallyStrange @impermanen_ the reason they withhold it is because it's never been tested on a cohort younger than 50. That's it.
At this point it seems so, so arbitrary. I am truly hoping someone is testing it on younger folks somewhere so they can strike down the restriction, as there appears to be so many benefits. I also know two people that were far younger than 50 that had shingles.
@womp @impermanen_ TIL. Unserious ass health system.
@womp @SallyStrange @impermanen_ as someone who got shingles before age 30, and it still took two years to convince doctors I should get vaccinated after that... Please get the vaccine if you can. Shingles sucks.
@womp @SallyStrange @impermanen_ and yes, if you have even mild immunodeficiency, insurance should cover it in the US before age 50. Especially if you've had chicken pox.
@cathos @womp @SallyStrange@eldritch.cafe @impermanen_
I had shingles in my mid 30s, on my head, and into my left eye. I was vaccinated after 50. I never ever want that again.
@impermanen_ love to if they'd let me. NHS makes you wait til 70. When, if you're going to develop dementia, that's probably already happening.
Might be able to spend nearly £500 at a pharmacy but it still says eligibility criteria apply.
@noodlemaz
I'm in the NHS England area. I had my first shingles vaccination in May last year when I was 65.
@impermanen_
@noodlemaz
I've just checked the NHS website. The criteria seem a little complicated. If you reached the age of 65 before 1st September 2023 you won't be eligible until you reach the age of 70 but if you turn 65 after 1st September 2023 you are eligible from you 65th birthday. Crazy.
https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/shingles-vaccine/
@impermanen_
@impermanen_ here it's limited to immunocompromised and elderly folks :/
@impermanen_ Shingrex was my absolute favorite most exciting 50th Birthday Present To Myself of all!
(Ever since a friend of mine got shingles in her 30s, I've been mentally drumming my fingers and gnashing my teeth about it.)
Dose one had no side-effects whatsoever, other than soreness at the jab site.
Dose two is next week. Preparing for side-effects to be not so non-existent.
@impermanen_
Uhhh I got shingles at 30 and they still won't give the vaccine :(
@impermanen_@zirk.us vaccines are basically magic, this is really cool!!
@impermanen_ my first dose was okay. second one was *really* rough -- whole body just ACHED and i felt awful. only lasted a day or two, but good god, if that's what the vaccine felt like, i can't even IMAGINE what actual shingles must feel like. UGH.
@impermanen_ Sadly it isn't available to everyone who wants it. Here in Sweden, for example, you have to pay, which adds up to about 600$