Report: Shingrix in Singapore in one day (per injection) is possible

[retiree]

Tan Tock Seng Hospital will do it.  I spoke with a Nurse Tan in the Travelers Clinic.  They will:
 - schedule a doctor consultation (required),
 - reserve a Shingrix injection for same-day service.
An advance appointment is required.  Cost in $Singapore are S$427 (Shingrix), S$33 (doctor), + 15% foreigner surcharge, so a little under US$400.  No doctor needed for second shot in 2-6 months.
Nurse Tan understands the situation, and said a half-day was reasonable.
+65 6357 2222  [email protected]

 

I also checked with Raffles Medical Group, which has a 24-hour clinic at Changi Airport.  They advertise that Shingrix vaccine is "available at most Raffles Medical Clinics."  After a series of phone calls and e-mails, this turns out not to be so.  The airport clinic doesn't have Shingrix, and I don't think the other Raffles centers do either.  They were very nice, though, and pointed me to Tan Tock Seng.

 

Just fyi, I had the Zostavax shot nearly a decade ago.  For me, I think that getting a Zostavax booster now (apparently safe and effective, although not heavily studied), then waiting a year to reconsider travel for Shingrix is my own best "Covid-era" strategy (CDC says that an 8-week gap is sufficient).  There's a somewhat higher relative risk of shingles and PHN, but the absolute risk year-on-year is still low.

--Retiree 

[Digitalbanana]

On 4/21/2022 at 11:32 AM, retiree said:

so a little under US$400.

Blimey thats nearly a grand for the two required doses plus return travel costs as it's not available in Thailand. The health companies really have us over a barrel on this.

[Lorry]

For Europeans who stil have access to the health care system of their country it's about the price of a flight home. 

The vaccination is free, then. 

[MrJ2U]

On 4/21/2022 at 11:32 AM, retiree said:

shingles

Really painful!

 

I'm suprised it's unavailable in Thailand. 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by MrJ2U

[Lorry]

3 hours ago, MrJ2U said:

Really painful!

 

I'm suprised it's unavailable in Thailand. 

 

 

Marketing decision. Who is going to pay a lot to avoid shingles?

If the producer figures the market is too small they won't bring it here.

 

It's unavailable in much richer countries in Asia, and even in some rich countries in Western Europe you  couldn't get it until fairly recently

[internationalism]

8 hours ago, Lorry said:

For Europeans who stil have access to the health care system of their country it's about the price of a flight home. 

The vaccination is free, then. 

in some european countries neither zostavax nor shingrix are available at all at the national and private health service. I have just checked one country in EU.

zostavax in thailand is 4.8k so $130 at the red cross. At travel clinics you might have to pre-order. Only 1 dose required. That in comparison to $800 (2 doses) of shingrix.

It's possible to take zostavax as first and after sometime also shingrix.

Zostavax protects in 51% and can be boosted every 5 years (wikipedia says it lasts only 3 years), shingrix protects in 90% and lasts up to 9 years.

I had my zostavax in thailand over a year ago. I was below 60 and I think no any questions were asked by doctor during consultation

Edited October 25, 2022 by internationalism

[Hamus Yaigh]

7 hours ago, internationalism said:

I had my zostavax in thailand

Same here as there was no other choice. I am not sure about 51% protection, seemed to make little difference to me after getting Zostavax and I have decided to use acyclovir antiviral pills that seem to work much better at start of any attack. I would try Shringirx if available, why is there no demand in Thailand vs other countries, are Thais immune to shingles?

[retiree]

How long Zostavax "lasts" is really a moving target.  This study extends early 1-4 and 5-6 year studies out to 11 years.  It also looks at burden of illness (BOI); i.e. how nasty is shingles if you get it.  It concludes that there's some protection against the disease for 8 years, and a reduction of burden for 10 years:  

https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/60/6/900/496651

 

The money shot is the three tables in Figure 3.   Yes, efficacy declines, but the confidence interval that might also indicate an "average" gets wider and wider.  This means that mileage may vary, and may be dependent on some secondary factor the analysis didn't tease out.   

 

Re availability, the below says that Shingrix production takes 6-9 months.  Given shortages even in major countries through 2019, followed by Covid-19, it's not surprising GSK might slow down applying for Shingrix approvals around the world: 

https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/glaxosmithkline-shingrix-shortage-expected-to-persist-throughout-2019-cdc-says 

 

-- Retiree
 

[Mavideol]

17 hours ago, MrJ2U said:

Really painful!

 

I'm suprised it's unavailable in Thailand. 

 

 

had it 3 years ago and still suffering as once in a while the pain comes back and the place where it happen is sensitive less, numbed but no damn vaccine available here only the old version Zostavax

[MrJ2U]

20 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

had it 3 years ago and still suffering as once in a while the pain comes back and the place where it happen is sensitive less, numbed but no damn vaccine available here only the old version Zostavax

Zostavax isn't recommended?

 

Medical Hub of Asia, you gotta be kidding me!

 

My friend just had it, absolutely miserable for two weeks. 

[Sheryl]

18 hours ago, MrJ2U said:

Really painful!

 

I'm suprised it's unavailable in Thailand. 

 

 

It is not yet available in many countries, and the manufacturer initially had a struggle  to meet the market demand in the countries where it was available. The stock situation now is better and they are starting to market it in more places.

 

Remember that it only came out 5 years ago. These things take time.