diff --git a/src/lib/charm/vault.py b/src/lib/charm/vault.py
index 6be32b2..90f36ed 100644
--- a/src/lib/charm/vault.py
+++ b/src/lib/charm/vault.py
@@ -236,6 +236,8 @@ def get_client(url=None):
 
 @tenacity.retry(wait=tenacity.wait_exponential(multiplier=1, max=60),
                 stop=tenacity.stop_after_attempt(8),
+                retry=tenacity.retry_if_exception_type(
+                    hvac.exceptions.InternalServerError),
                 reraise=True)
 def get_local_client():
     """Provide a client for talking to the vault api
diff --git a/src/reactive/vault_handlers.py b/src/reactive/vault_handlers.py
index 155f318..edefd06 100644
--- a/src/reactive/vault_handlers.py
+++ b/src/reactive/vault_handlers.py
@@ -727,7 +727,8 @@ def client_approle_authorized():
         vault.get_local_client()
         return True
     except (vault.hvac.exceptions.InternalServerError,
-            vault.VaultNotReady):
+            vault.VaultNotReady,
+            vault.hvac.exceptions.VaultDown):
         log("InternalServerError: Unable to athorize approle. "
             "This may indicate failure to communicate with the database ",
             "WARNING")