City of Montclair Township

The Health Department offers shingles vaccinations, arranged by appointment only. Please call 973-509-4974 to set up an appointment. The cost of the vaccine is $175. Free vaccine may be available if you qualify and some insurance companies may reimburse you. People age 60 and older can be vaccinated against shingles, or herpes zoster, a condition often marked by debilitating chronic pain.

Shingles, also known as zoster or herpes zoster is a painful rash caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. If you’ve had chickenpox, you are at risk of getting shingles. One out of every three people age 60 years old or older will get shingles. The most common complication of shingles is severe pain where the shingles rash appears. There is no treatment or cure from this pain. As people get older, they are more likely to develop long-term pain as a complication of shingles and the pain is likely to be more severe.

To protect yourself against shingles, adults age 60 and over should talk to their healthcare professional about getting a one-time dose of the shingles vaccine. The shingles vaccine can reduce your risk of shingles and the long term pain it can cause. People who have already had shingles or who have chronic medical conditions, can receive the shingles vaccine.

When you get your shingles vaccine, it’s a great time to talk about other vaccines you may need such as flu vaccine, Tdap (protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), Pneumonia vaccine to protect against serious pneumococcal disease if you are 65 years or older.

For more information, call the Montclair Health Department at call 973-509-4974.

All adults should get vaccines to protect their health. Even healthy adults can become seriously ill, and can pass certain illnesses on to others. Immunization is especially important for adults 60 years of age and older, and for those who have a chronic condition such as asthma, COPD, diabetes or heart disease.

Immunization is also important for anyone who is in close contact with the very young, the very old, people with weakened immune systems, and those who cannot be vaccinated. All adults should get:

• Influenza (flu) vaccine: Each year to protect against the seasonal flu.
• Td or Tdap: Every adult should get the Tdap vaccine once if they did not receive it as an adolescent to protect against pertussis (whooping cough), and then a Td (tetanus, diphtheria) booster shot every 10 years. In addition, women are also recommended to get the Tdap vaccine each time they are pregnant, preferably at 27 through 36 weeks.

The need for other adult vaccines – such as shingles, pneumococcal, hepatitis, HPV – depends on one’s age, occupation, travel, health status, and other risk factors.

The Montclair Health Department offers vaccination clinics twice per month. The vaccination clinics are held on the first and third Monday mornings from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. For more information and to check vaccine availability, please call 973-509-4974 and ask to speak to a public health nurse. Free vaccine may be available if you qualify.