Shingrix, the vaccine approved last year to prevent shingles, has proved so popular that its maker, GlaxoSmithKline, has not been able to produce it quickly enough to keep up with the demand.
The vaccine is recommended for most people over 50. But many are having trouble getting it. The company says there are no manufacturing problems — it just didn’t expect so many consumers to want the vaccine.
“Uptake was very, very quick, and enthusiasm was very high,” said a company spokesman, Sean Clements.
People are eager to avoid shingles. It causes a rash that can be extremely painful, itchy and debilitating, and sometimes leaves nerve damage that can produce pain lasting months or years. Most likely to develop in people over 50, shingles occurs when the chickenpox virus, which goes dormant after the childhood illness, is reactivated. It’s a common ailment: one in three people will have it at some point in their lives, and it can flare up more than once.
In studies, two Shingrix injections, two to six months apart, were more than 90 percent effective at preventing the rash, and close to 90 percent effective at warding off the nerve complications. That made it far more effective than an earlier shingles vaccine. The medical world has essentially given it rave reviews.
“Shingrix has been met with an unprecedented level of demand from patients and health care professionals,” the company said in an emailed statement, noting that it is “significantly increasing and accelerating shipments of Shingrix this year.”
The statement also said: “We are shipping large volumes of Shingrix every two to three weeks and expect that schedule to continue for the remainder of the year. Patients can use the Shingrix Vaccine Finder at Shingrix.com to locate providers or pharmacies that have been offering the vaccine. It is recommended that patients call locations before their visit to ensure vaccine is available.”
The shipments tend to have been used up within a few days of being delivered, Mr. Clements said. He added, “Some places have it, some don’t.
He could not predict when supply might catch up with demand.
“It’s such a great public health story, to see something embraced this much, and for people to be so excited to go get their second dose,” Mr. Clements said. “It’s kind of a success story in a way.”
Patients don’t quite share that rosy view. The shortfalls are particularly irksome to those who have received the first shot and been unable to get the second one.
Ralph Stern, 81, in Orange, Conn., said he and his wife had their first injections in April but have not been able to track down a second dose, even though they have tried the recommended vaccine-finder and called drugstores and supermarkets that are supposed to have the vaccine.
“They give you a pharmacy and you call the pharmacy and they don’t have it,” Mr. Stern said.
An acquaintance of Mr. Stern’s lost six months of work because of shingles, and that motivated him and his wife to be vaccinated, he said. It worries him that they may not be able to get the second shot inside the recommended six-month time frame.
“I want to be in the window where you had a record of success,” he said. “I want what they recommended, and then they can’t do it.”
Dr. Kathleen L. Dooling, a shingles expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that in studies, the vast majority of patients received the second injection two to six months after the first, so the best evidence is based on that timing. People who miss the six-month mark should just get the second shot as soon as possible, she said. But there is no reason to start over again: a total of two shots is still enough.
She said small studies looked at people who received the second shot six to 12 months after the first, and while the overall immune response remained strong, “there was some individual variation.”
She said the best strategy was for people receiving the first shot to make an appointment two months later for the second one, to try to lock in that dose. She said the disease centers had encouraged providers to give priority to patients seeking their second shot.
“It’s important that people should know it’s worth the wait,” Dr. Dooling said. “Completing the series is extremely important to realize the full benefit of this vaccine. Book an appointment for the second dose two months later. Don’t give up if there’s a temporary shortage.”
“We keep trying,” Mr. Stern said. “I don’t give up with anything.”
