Dosage of the vaccine | Zostavax® vaccination against shingles

Dosage of the vaccine

The dosage is specified by the manufacturer. The inoculation solution (0.65ml) is available on the market as a ready-made solution or powder. It contains at least 19.

400 PBE (plaque forming units). This means the number of effective or active pathogens. The concentration in the Zostavax® vaccine is up to 14 times higher than in the chickenpox vaccine administered in childhood. The vaccination is administered subcutaneously or intramuscularly in the lateral (outer) upper arm.

How much does the Zostavax® vaccination cost?

The cost of a finished dose of Zostavax® is available at the pharmacy for about 180€. In addition to these pure “material costs”, a vaccination fee charged by the treating physician must be paid. For this, 4.66€ must be charged according to the medical fee ordinance.

However, since this is a private treatment, higher costs may be incurred here. It can be assumed from about 7-8€. The total costs for a vaccination therefore amount to about 190€.

All vaccinations that are recommended as relevant by the STIKO (permanent vaccination commission) are usually covered by the health insurance companies and the aid. There is no recommendation for the Zostavax® vaccination. Accordingly, it cannot be assumed that the health insurance company will pay for it.

In this case, it may be helpful to contact the insurance company. In certain cases or with certain insurers, special regulations or individual special decisions may exist which may lead to full or partial reimbursement of the costs. In the case of various company health insurance funds, it may be quite likely that the costs will be covered.

Alternatives to Zostavax® vaccination

As an alternative to the Zostavax® vaccination, the Shingrix® vaccination has been approved on the German market since October 2017. The difference is that it is not a live vaccine, but a so-called subunit vaccine. Here, no living, attenuated pathogens are found as active ingredient in the vaccine, but parts of “surface structures”.

This vaccination can also be used for people with immunodeficiency. However, this should only be done after a thorough and exact examination of the approval and in consultation with the manufacturer. Recent studies have shown the effectiveness of the Shingrix vaccination to be clearly superior to the Zostavax® vaccination and very efficient.