Free shingles vaccines offered

HONESDALE — Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers is administering free shingles vaccines to uninsured and underinsured people free to people age 60 and older.

The vaccine, Zostavax, costs about $230 when administered to an uninsured adult through a pharmacy. As a federally qualified health center, all of Wayne Memorial’s family practice locations will administer the Zostavax vaccine to anyone meeting specific criteria. Distribution of the free vaccine is administered and monitored by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The Pike Family Health Center, located at 750 Route 739 in Lords Valley, is among the six locations offering the vaccine. The phone number at the center is 570-775-4278. Call ahead to check for availability.

“For all six of our Family Health Centers to be able to vaccinate people who could not otherwise afford it is invaluable,” said Patricia Bohs, RN, Clinical Services Director for Wayne Memorial.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 1 out of 3 people in the United States develops shingles. Although anyone who has recovered from chickenpox is at risk for shingles, the risk increases as a person gets older. The CDC recommends the shingles vaccine for people age 60 and over even if the person does not recall ever having chickenpox. In some cases, adults who have had chickenpox simply do not remember having contracted it.

Other locations in Honesdale, Carbondale, Vandling, Lake Como, and Waymart are also offering the free vaccine.

For more information, call 570-251-6676 or visit www.wmh.org/WMCHC.