KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- After seeing signs all around town advertising the shingles vaccine, many of you are wondering who should get it.
Shingles, also known as Herpes Zoster, is a skin rash that usually appears on the face or body in the form of blisters and lasts anywhere from two to four weeks.
"Shingles is a very painful disease to get. It causes the blisters similar with a cold sore on your mouth but it's in areas of your body where typically the nerves run, around your waist, areas like that and it's very painful," said Lori Guffey, an R.N. affiliated with the Adair County Health Department.
According to the Adair County Health Department, shingles is most often found in people 50 years of age or older. In most cases, only people who have had chickenpox or in rare cases, have had the chickenpox vaccine, can get the rash.
The Health Department recommends those 50 and older get the shingles vaccine to prevent them from contracting the virus. The Adair County Health Department administers the vaccine for $185, and said the vaccine is so expensive because it's been around for just six years.
"Sometimes , these newer vaccines that are out, there's a lot of research that done on them prior to that, and sometimes that helps keep costs elevated a little bit," said Guffey. "It depends on variables that going to making the vaccine."
The Adair County Health Department administers the vaccine on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and requires that you get an order from a primary care provider before getting the vaccine.