Nope, not another item about the Gardasil vaccine for HPV.

This time, the complaint is over the Zostavax vaccine for shingles, which debuted last fall for folks who are 60 and older. Docs say they want to administer it, but they can’t afford to purchase bulk quantities, which must remain frozen.

“It’s a terrific vaccine, highly effective and people want it,” Kenneth Schmader, chairman of the research committee of the American Geriatrics Society, tells The Star-Ledger of New Jersey. “The problem is paying for it.”

Says one doc: “It’s a good vaccine, but I don’t want to purchase $2,000 worth of vaccine if people don’t show up to buy it.”

Of course, it doesn’t help that Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rules can be confusing.

Obviously, Merck has a tough sales job. If more older Americans thought it was a good idea to get vaccinated against shingles, they would be rolling up their sleeves right now. And docs wouldn’t be reluctant to pay for it. After all, they purchase plenty of other vaccines.

To reach its sales goal, Merck may have to convince state governments to mandate Zostavax.

[tags]Merck, Vaccines, Zostavax[/tags]