I had a patient on Methotrexate want the shingles vaccine. Had to look this one up…as people with Rheumatoid arthritis and related diseases are on immunosuppressives…
The shingle’s vaccine, Zostavax, is a live vaccine.
Center Disease Control states:
“Therapy with low-doses of methotrexate (<0.4 mg/Kg/week), azathioprine (<3.0 mg/Kg/day), or 6mercaptopurine (<1.5 mg/Kg/day) for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, polymyositis, sarcoidosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and other conditions are also not considered sufficiently immunosuppressive to create vaccine safety concerns and are not contraindications for administration of zoster vaccine.”
Patient was 55 kg so X 0.4 = 22 mg. He was on only 10 mg so there was no reason could not have vaccine.
Comment – people with chronic pain cannot afford to get shingles as it could cause persistent pain even moreso.