Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As I spoke about in my statement, right now the shingles vaccine is both available and recommended for those over 50; however, it's only covered under both Blue Cross health extended benefits and NHIB for those ages 65 to 70. I was hoping the Minister of Health can explain this, especially the cap. It seems odd to me that if you are 71 and you go to get the vaccine, you're too late. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister responsible for Health and Social Services.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I recognize that shingles is a very painful condition for those who contract it and it can lead to significant health outcomes, as the Member said in his statement.
The rationale here is that the numbers of people in the NWT who require the shingles vaccine is relatively small compared to other vaccines that we would like to fund and don't have the money to fund at this point. In order to bring the vaccine to the whole 50 to 64yearold group, and then the EHB would cover it after that, we'd be looking for an investment of $2 million which is something, of course, the Regular Members could request during the budget process. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yeah, I and I know that the department and whenever we're looking to bring a vaccine into public funded, there's a bit of a debate, you know, about most vaccines that save us money in healthcare costs in the long term if they prevent hospitalizations we save money in the long term. And with shingles, in this case we would save people a lot of pain. I'm just wondering if the department has any evidence that or has done any of the research about whether extending this vaccine to everyone would actually save the health system money? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a full analysis has not been done but there are some estimates. So cost due to hospitalizations due to shingles for NWT residents aged 50 plus, for 2009 to 2018, was $1.3 million. The cost for the vaccine product to immunize the entire NWT population for 50 plus is $1.91 million. And there's also a need for boosters with shingles, and the annual cost of that would be $165,000.
So as things stand now, it would cost us more to vaccinate than it would cost for hospitalizations. But that is a very mathematical answer. People who have shingles and I'm aware of people in my own acquaintance who have had shingles it's a very painful condition. So if people have employer plans that would cover the shingles vaccine and would be able to get it prior to age 65, I would certainly recommend that. Thank you.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I'm going to have to revisit those numbers because if there's annual ongoing hospitalization costs and we can just do a one time, get everyone out there vaccinated and, you know, largely at some point the chicken pox vaccine will catch up and the number of shingles cases will really decline in the population. But I'm hoping I you know, as public health moves into, you know, having a little bit more time on their hand, we could get some information out there telling people to get vaccinated for shingles and how exactly and when they can get reimbursed. I know it's different whether you have NHIB or it's different if you have Blue Cross, and I know some people have went and paid for it not even knowing they were eligible for any sort of reimbursement. So if the Minister could commit to getting some information out there for our seniors to get vaccinated against shingles? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, yes, the department is interested in targeting the most high risk population, which is that 65 to 70yearold group. Also, people who are receiving active cancer treatment who are immune compromised. And the NHIB program offers an exception to the 65 to 70 age group. People can apply for coverage if they feel they can make a case for that with NHIB.
Having said all of that, I think that the Member's suggestion is a good one, that we provide a more targeted campaign to encourage uptake on the vaccine for the 65 to 70 group and for those who have benefits, as I say, who might be able to get it sooner, to go ahead and do that rather than deal with the pain and potential longterm consequences of shingles. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Frame Lake.
