FITCHBURG (SPECTRUM NEWS) — A Shortage of shingles vaccines across the country has one Dane County pharmacist concerned about his patients and their wellbeing.

Supply issues with GlaxoSmithKline’s Shingrix are making the shot nearly impossible to get, unless you are on a long waitlist.  At Fitchburg Family Pharmacy, that list is 30 people long.

“You can only order a little at a time and our wholesaler in turn is only getting a little at a time,” Fitchburg Family Pharmacy’s Dr. Ryan Bender said.  “So it’s trickling in from the manufacturer and from the wholesaler to the pharmacy and then from the pharmacy to the patient,” he added about the cause of the limited supply.

Dr. Bender says the manufacturer plans to make more as quickly as possible for this 2019.  He hopes in a few more months, the shortage will come to a halt.  

In the meantime, Shringix is being offered to those 50 and older on a first come, first serve basis, but Dr. Bender does make certain accommodations.

‘We want to prioritize people that need the vaccine the most like people with immunosuppression therapy, we want to get that vaccine to them before they start it,” Dr. Bender said.

The CDC says shingles affects one in three during their lifetime, with about one million cases of the disease each year.