Shingles Vaccine Available to TRICARE Beneficiaries Age 60 and Older

Following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation on October 19, 2007, TRICARE now covers Zostavax, the vaccine designed to prevent shingles for beneficiaries 60 and older.

Shingles is a painful viral disease that affects more than one million Americans every year. It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox in children. It remains in the body for decades, sleeping in nerve cells along the spinal column. A shingles rash usually appears on one side of the face or body and lasts between two and four weeks. It is painful and can be accompanied by fever, headache, chills and upset stomach. More than half of those cases happen in people age 60 or older. The CDC recommends a single dose of shingles vaccine for everyone age 60 and older.

Beneficiaries must have vaccinations administered in a provider’s office. Zostavax is covered under the TRICARE medical benefit and is not reimbursable under the pharmacy benefit.

For more information on shingles and the vaccine, you may visit the CDC Web site, www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-shingles.pdf or www.triwest.com.