<\/p>\n
By Andrew M. Seaman<\/p>\n
(Reuters Health) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c The shingles vaccine might not be cost-effective for people in their fifties, a new analysis suggests.<\/p>\n
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend the shingles vaccine for that age group, and the authors of the new analysis say their findings support that policy. <\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Even though the vaccine is effective, it may not be cost effective,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d lead author Phuc Le of the Cleveland Clinic told Reuters Health.<\/p>\n
Shingles, or herpes zoster, is a painful, blistering rash caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. <\/p>\n
About one million Americans develop shingles each year, Le and colleagues say. Many of them go on to have persistent severe pain known as postherpetic neuralgia, even if they receive treatment with antiviral drugs.<\/p>\n
The vaccine against shingles is cleared for use among those age 50 and older, but the CDC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) does not recommend the vaccine before age 60.<\/p>\n
For the new study, reported in Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers used a computer to estimate the effectiveness of the vaccine in people 50 to 59 years.<\/p>\n
Overall, they calculated, for every 1,000 people receiving the vaccine at age 50, just 25 shingles cases and one case of shingle-related pain would be prevented.<\/p>\n
Typically, preventive treatments are considered cost-effective when they cost at most $100,000 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY), that is, per year of healthy life gained. The new analysis found the vaccine cost over $300,000 per QALY.<\/p>\n
Dr. Michael Rothberg, the study\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s senior author from the Cleveland Clinic, said that when the vaccine is given at ages 60 or 70, its protective effect lasts 10 to 12 years.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you get vaccinated when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re 50, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re pretty much unprotected by 60,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n
In a statement emailed to Reuters Health, Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, the executive director of medical affairs for adult vaccines at Merck, said it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important not to lose sight of the impact of the disease.<\/p>\n
Merck Co., Inc.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Zostavax shingles vaccine has been found to reduce both shingles and its related pain.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Our FDA approved indication for Zostavax begins at age 50 and given the demonstrated efficacy rate of 70 percent for people 50 to 59 and safety profile of Zostavax, vaccination could help to prevent many of these cases,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Bresnitz wrote. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153This may help explain why many private insurance plans include the vaccine on formulary, in spite of the absence of an ACIP recommendation among the 50-59 age cohort.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
If the vaccine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s effectiveness lasted longer, or the price of the drug was less, it might be cost effective, Rothberg said.<\/p>\n
But data on the longterm efficacy for people in their 50s may take years to be published, Le said in a follow-up email.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The study already looks at the impact of vaccine cost,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If the vaccine\u00c2\u00a0were to\u00c2\u00a0cost $80\u00c2\u00a0or less\u00c2\u00a0per dose, the vaccine\u00c2\u00a0could\u00c2\u00a0be considered\u00c2\u00a0to represent\u00c2\u00a0good value\u00c2\u00a0for\u00c2\u00a050-year-olds.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unlikely, though, that the vaccine will ever cost that little.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
According to healthcarebluebook.com, a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fair price\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for Zostavax in the U.S. is $200.<\/p>\n
Rothberg said it may be worthwhile for people who have the money to spend.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s helpful, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not something health plans or the government should cover,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It does benefit, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a small benefit.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
SOURCE: http:\/\/bit.ly\/SQRXAa Annals of Internal Medicine, online September 7, 2015.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c The shingles vaccine might not be cost-effective for people in their fifties, a new analysis suggests. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend the shingles vaccine for that age group, and the authors of the new analysis say their findings support that policy. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23161\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}