Free Shingles Shots Offered Monday Through BF Health District

Good news for those who have been wanting the shingles shot...it's available beginning Monday! The Benton Franklin Health District is offering FREE curbside Shingrix shots in a drive-through fashion at the Health District office on Okanogan Place in Kennewick.

The vaccination shots are available to community members who are 50 and older on Mondays and Wednesdays between 9 am and 4 pm. Appointments are required. To make your appointment, call the Benton Franklin Health District at 509-460-4200.

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Those being vaccinated must remain in their vehicles and face coverings are mandatory. Take note, the Shingrix vaccination cannot be administered within 14 days of the Covid-19 vaccine. So, if you have had the Covid-19 vaccine in the last two weeks or plan to get it in the next two weeks, you should wait to receive the shingles vaccine.

Your insurance information will be collected when you make the appointment. However, if you don't have insurance or your insurance doesn't cover the cost of the vaccine, you will NOT be charged.

The Shingrix vaccine is a two-dose series, with the second dose given from two to six months after the first dose.

From the Washington State Department of Health website:

Shingles is a painful skin rash caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays dormant (inactive) in the body. The virus can reactivate many years later and cause shingles. A shingles rash often includes blisters that usually develop on one side of the face or body and lasts from two to four weeks.  About 98 percent of adults have had chickenpox and are at risk for shingles. In the United States, at least 1 million people get shingles each year. Shingles is far more common in people age 50 and older than in younger people.

Make your appointment NOW through the BFHD. Call 509-460-4200. The curbside shingles vaccinations begin Monday in Kennewick at the Health District office at
7102 W. Okanogan Place.

Read more about shingles here.