Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just a reminder to everyone to get vaccinated and don't just get vaccinated against COVID. If your kids are in school, get them vaccinated against chicken pox. And if you're over 50, you should be vaccinated against the shingles virus.
The shingles virus, sometimes called adult chicken pox, is when the virus reemerges years later. And, Mr. Speaker, shingles is not just a bad rash. In up to 18 percent of people, it attacks the nervous system and can cause strong shooting nerve pain for months if not years after getting shingles. And it's currently recommended that everyone over 50 get the shingles virus [sic], Mr. Speaker.
Unfortunately, unlike our chicken pox vaccine for youth, the shingles vaccine is not covered for everyone. There's a small select group who can get reimbursed between the ages of 65 and 70 but we have yet to make it a publicly funded vaccine. And that is what I would like to see, Mr. Speaker is that everyone who wants to go and get vaccinated against shingles can do so. It is especially susceptible in our seniors and those with compromised immune systems.
And sadly, Mr. Speaker, shingles, despite, you know, progress of eliminating chicken pox in younger generations, is actually on the rise during the pandemic. And we have the tools to fight this. So I'll have questions for the Minister of Health and Social Services about what we can do to get everyone vaccinated against shingles and prevent what is a very preventible disease. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member for Inuvik Twin Lakes.
