It’s about what insurance plan covers your shingle vaccine.

Some are prescription benefit and others are medical. If medical, you have to get at the Md and you end up paying more due to the typical higher deductible (this is a high cost brand name Med). Prescription benefit will be a lot less as deductible is typically less. However....

Another issue is a lot MD offices do not do immunizations any more so your likely getting it at your pharmacy. Your rx benefit will allow the claim to go through but not actually pay for it or apply it towards your deductible. In a sense it is a covered no covered item. It takes a very very very trained eye to catch this (as it this note often lives in the coordination of benefits script in the software). So essentially your paying the cash price or some negotiated discount price.

Having said all this, you pay for what you get with Shingrix. A round of shingles will cost you more and if need neuralgia medication it’ll add up quick (potentially). Also it’s pretty effective, I think about 80-90% which is dope. Zoe tabac was a life saver and only 50% effective.