If you're between the ages of 65 and 70, you can get a free shingles vaccine by contacting the Sudbury and District Health Unit or your health-care practitioner.
The province started to subsidize the cost of the shingles vaccine for people in that age range in September 2016.
The one-time injection has proven to be most effective for older people in that age range, said Justine Mansourian-Christakos, a public health nurse with the health unit.
Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus and can cause a painful skin rash. It is most common in older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
Mansourian-Christakos said the vaccine is around 70-per-cent effective at preventing shingles for people in the subsidized age range.
But if a vaccinated person does get shingles, the disease wouldn't be as severe.
“They're going to heal a lot quicker and it's not going to be as communicable,” Mansourian-Christakos said.
The vaccine is recommended for anyone over the age of 50.
For people who don't qualify for a subsidized vaccine it costs $186 to purchase from the health unit.
