Tuesday, March 26, 2024

What Are The Chances Of Getting Shingles After Vaccine

Key Points To Remember

What You Should Know About Shingles Vaccines | Johns Hopkins Medicine
  • Shingles can be very painful.
  • Adults ages 50 and older and adults 19 and older who have a weakened immune system can get the vaccine. You need two doses, whether or not you’ve had shingles before.
  • The vaccine greatly lowers your chances of getting shingles. If you get shingles anyway, you are less likely to have the long-term pain that can occur after shingles than if you hadn’t had the vaccine.
  • If you’ve already had shingles, you are not likely to get it again. But some people do.

What is shingles?

Shingles is an infection that occurs when the virus that causes chickenpox starts up again in your body. Anyone who has had chickenpox can get shingles, but it is most common in older adults.

Shingles usually causes a rash that can be very painful. The rash is usually on your back or chest and lasts from 2 to 4 weeks. For some people, the severe pain continues long after the rash clears up.

Shingles can be very hard on older people. The pain can affect their quality of life. For some, the pain lasts for a year or longer.

What are your chances of getting shingles?

Only people who have had chickenpox can get shingles.

Out of 100 people, about 30 may get shingles sometime in their lives.2 And the risk is higher for people age 50 and older. Older people are also more likely to have severe pain with shingles.

Most people who get shingles will not get it again. But some people get shingles more than once.

How well does the vaccine work?

Side effects include:

Shingles Vaccine Side Effects

Like all vaccines, the shingles vaccines can cause side effects, but they’re generally mild and do not last long.

Common side effects that occur in at least 1 in 10 people are:

  • redness, pain, swelling, itching and warmth at the injection site

If any side effects carry on for longer than a few days, speak to your GP or practice nurse.

Tell your GP if you develop a rash after having the shingles vaccination.

When Should You Get Vaccinated Against Shingles

Most people should be vaccinated against shingles at ages 50 and over. People ages 18 and over who have health conditions or take medications that can weaken the immune system should consider getting the shingles vaccine before age 50.

For people receiving the vaccine at ages 50 and over, there is no particular time and no maximum age when you should be vaccinated.

Vaccination against shingles can be done on its own or alongside other vaccinations, like for the flu or pneumonia. Generally, the vaccine is given in two doses, with the second dose given 2 to 6 months after the first dose.

For people who are receiving the shingles vaccine because of an immune deficiency, the second dose can be given sooner: 1 to 2 months after the first dose.

In this case, if possible, shingles vaccination should be timed with your immune response. This could mean waiting until after a flare-up of your condition has subsided or getting the vaccine before you receive certain immune-suppressing medications.

7 years and remains effective afterward.

Speak with a doctor about how often you should be vaccinated for shingles based on your specific immune system and health concerns.

The shingles vaccine that is currently available in the United States was introduced in 2017, so you may have questions about it. Below are answers to some of the most common questions.

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Who Should Not Have The Shingles Vaccine

You should not have the shingles vaccine if you’ve had a serious allergic reaction in the past to a previous dose of the shingles vaccine, or to any of the ingredients in the vaccine, or to a previous dose of varicella vaccine.

If you have a weakened immune system a GP or practice nurse will assess which vaccine is suitable for you. Discuss any health concerns with the GP or practice nurse before you have the vaccine.

Zostavax is not suitable for people who have a weakened immune system due to a condition, treatment or medicine.

What Is The Treatment For Shingles And Recurring Shingles

Check if you have shingles

The treatment for recurring shingles is the same as for shingles.

If you suspect that you have recurring shingles, see your doctor as soon as possible. Taking an antiviral drug like acyclovir , valacyclovir , or famciclovir can reduce the severity of shingles and reduce how long it lasts.

Your doctor may also prescribe medications to lessen your pain and help you sleep. These include the following:

  • Skin patches with the painkiller lidocaine are available. You can wear them on the affected area for a specific length of time.
  • Skin patches that have 8 percent capsaicin, an extract of chili peppers, are available. Some people cannot tolerate the burning sensation, even though the skin is numb before the patch is put on.
  • Antiseizure drugs, such as gabapentin and pregabalin , reduce pain by reducing the nerve activity. They have side effects that may limit the amount of the drug that you can tolerate.
  • Antidepressants such as duloxetine and nortriptyline can be useful, especially to relieve pain and allow you to sleep.
  • Opioid painkillers can relieve pain, but they have side effects, such as dizziness and confusion, and they can become addictive.

You can also take cool baths with colloidal oatmeal to ease the itching, or apply cold compresses to the affected area. Rest and stress reduction are also important.

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Side Effects Of The Shingles Vaccine: Is It Safe

Shingles is a painful rash caused by varicella zoster, the same virus responsible for chickenpox.

If you had chickenpox as a child, the virus hasnt completely gone away. It hides dormant in your body and can reemerge many years later as shingles.

About 1 in 3 people in the United States will develop shingles in their lifetime. This is why vaccination is important. But you should also be prepared for possible side effects. In this article, well discuss the side effects, and talk about who should get the vaccine.

Older adults are most likely to develop shingles. This is why the shingles vaccine is recommended for people ages 50 and older.

Shingrix is the only shingles vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration .

The Shingrix vaccine is a recombinant vaccine. This means vaccine manufacturers created it by altering and purifying DNA that creates an immune response to fight the virus.

The CDC recommends Shingrix for the prevention of shingles and related complications. The Shingrix vaccine is also recommended for anyone who has already gotten another type of shingles vaccine.

Currently, the CDC recommends healthy people ages 50 and older get the Shingrix vaccine. Doctors administer the vaccine in two doses, which are given 2 to 6 months apart.

The Shingrix vaccine has high success rates in protecting people against shingles.

The Shingrix vaccine is as much as effective in preventing shingles. The same is true for Shingrix and postherpetic neuralgia.

Im Pregnant And Have Had A Blood Test For Chickenpox What Do The Results Of This Test Show

The blood test can show that you:

  • Are immune and have no sign of recent infection. You have nothing further to be concerned about.
  • Are not immune and have not yet been infected. You should avoid anyone with chickenpox during your pregnancy.
  • Have or recently had an infection. You should discuss what the risks are for your stage of pregnancy with your healthcare provider.

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What Are The Benefits Of The Shingles Vaccine

The shingles vaccines are the best way to protect you from getting shingles. The vaccines have been shown to reduce the risk of getting shingles by 50% for Zostavax® II, and to more than 90% for Shingrix®.

For those who still get shingles after being immunized, the vaccines can reduce pain, including the type of pain that lasts after shingles.

Who Is Most Likely To Get Shingles Again

Yes, you can get the shingles vaccine after getting your COVID vaccine

You’re more likely to get it again if:

  • You had severe pain from shingles that lasted more than 30 days. This is called post-herpetic neuralgia .
  • You are a woman.
  • You were age 50 or older when you had shingles the first time.
  • Your immune system is weak from conditions like leukemia, lymphoma, or HIV, or you take medicines that suppress your immune system.

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I Got The Shingles Shot And Still Got Shingles How Come

Reader Question 741 votes

A

Its not really surprising that you got shingles after being vaccinated. No vaccine is 100 percent effective and whilechildhood vaccinations get close, the shingles vaccine only cuts the risk of shingles by half for people who receive it at age 60 or older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a single dose for those 60 or older, though the vaccine is approved for use starting at age 50.

Even though the vaccine is not always effective, it still protects a lot of people, since nearly one in three adults develops shingles during their lifetime. And if you do get shingles, you may have a milder episode because you were vaccinated. A large clinical trial found that the vaccine reduces the risk of having very severe, long-lasting pain, a syndrome called postherpetic neuralgia.

Its these extreme, prolonged painful episodes that the vaccine works better at preventing, said Dr. Rafael Harpaz, a medical epidemiologist in the division of viral diseases at the C.D.C.What would motivate me to run out and get the vaccine, he said, would be to protect myself from being that rare person who gets 10 years of life-shattering pain.

The vaccine may be most effective at younger ages. If you get it in your 60s, it reduces cases by nearly two thirds, or 64 percent it reduces risk by 41 percent if you are in your 70s when vaccinated and by 18 percent if you are in your 80s.

Do you have a health question? Submit your question to Ask Well.

Shingles Virus Can Sleep Reactivate

Shingles is caused by the same virus the varicella zoster virus that causes chickenpox. Once you have had chickenpox, the virus that caused it remains inside your nerves. It is inactive, but it can be reactivated later in life. This causes shingles.

When the virus reactivates, the infected nerves, and the skin the nerves go to, become inflamed, causing a burning or stabbing pain. A few days later, when the virus reaches the skin, a rash of blisters appear along the affected nerve. The skin may be very sensitive, unable to tolerate even the lightest touch.

About 1 in 10 adults who get shingles experience long-term pain, even after the rash has healed completely. This condition is called post-herpetic neuralgia . It may last for months, or even years. And it can be debilitating.

After causing shingles, the virus again goes “back to sleep” inside your nerves. But it can still flare up again.

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Who Shouldn’t Get It

A person should not get Shingrix if:

  • They have ever had a severe allergic reaction to any component of the vaccine or the first dose of the vaccine.
  • They test negative for immunity to varicella-zoster virus.
  • They currently have shingles.
  • They are pregnant.

If you are experiencing a moderate to severe illness, with a fever or not, you should consider waiting until you are better before getting the vaccine.

Are Chickenpox And Shingles Serious Illnesses

Having Chicken Pox Puts You At Risk For Painful Shingles: Fight Back ...

The symptoms may be more severe in newborns, persons with weakened immune systems, and adults. Serious problems can occur and may include pneumonia , brain infection , and kidney problems. Many people are not aware that before a vaccine was available, approximately 10,600 persons were hospitalized, and 100 to 150 died, as a result of chickenpox in the U.S. every year.

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How Effective Is The Shingles Vaccine In Preventing Shingles

The shingles vaccine can provide strong protection against shingles and postherpetic neuralgia , the most commonly occurring shingles complication.

The shingles vaccine is 97% effective in preventing shingles in people ages 50 to 69 years old. Its 91% effective in people ages 70 years and older.

In addition, the shingles vaccine is 91% effective in preventing PHN in people ages 50 to 69 years old. Its 89% effective in people ages 70 years and older.

What Is The Best Way To Prevent Shingles

Your best chance at preventing shingles is to get vaccinated. There is one vaccine, Shingrix, which is very effective in preventing shingles and complications, including postherpetic neuralgia.

  • Shingrix is a recommended vaccine for all adults age 50 years and older whether or not they have had shingles or previously received varicella vaccine. The vaccine is a series of two doses. The administration of the second dose is given 2 to 6 months after the first dose.

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What Are The Side Effects

The shingles vaccines are very safe.

Common side effects to the vaccines include headache as well as soreness, redness and swelling where the vaccine was given. Itching and a rash may also occur after getting Zostavax® II. Other reactions that may occur after getting Shingrix® include fever, muscle soreness, fatigue, shivering, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

It is important to stay in the clinic for 15 minutes after getting any vaccine because there is an extremely rare possibility of anaphylaxis, which is a life-threatening allergic reaction. This may include hives, difficulty breathing, or swelling of the throat, tongue, or lips. The chance of true anaphylaxis is about 1 in 1 million vaccine doses. Should this reaction occur, your health care provider is prepared to treat it. Emergency treatment includes administration of epinephrine and transfer by ambulance to the nearest emergency department. If symptoms develop after you leave the clinic, call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number. Learn more about anaphylaxis on our vaccine side effects page.

It is important to always report serious or unexpected reactions to your health care provider.

Shingrix Vaccine Makes Shingles Less Severe Disruptive To Quality Of Life

How Can You Prevent Shingles

The vaccine Shingrix prevents shingles, and if people do contract the virus, it reduces the severity of illness, two company-funded study suggests.

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, typically develops in older adults who had chicken pox, or the varicella-zoster virus, when they were younger. Its hallmark is a painful rash, which clears up within a month in most cases. In some instances, however, it leads to nerve pain that can linger for much longer and make it harder for people to manage daily tasks.

We knew that patients who had not received the shingles vaccine, and then suffered a shingles outbreak as well as the pain related to it, would have had their quality of life negatively impacted, said Erin Adams, a researcher at the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy at Shenandoah University in Fairfax, Virginia.

The first shingles vaccine, Zostavax, did show evidence that it reduced the burden of illness and postherpetic neuralgia if a patient ended up getting shingles post vaccination, Adams, who wasnt involved in the study, said by email. It had been theorized that the Shingrix vaccine could lessen the symptoms of the virus itself, but we did not have evidence of how patients who received the Shingrix vaccine and still had a shingles outbreak would respond or what the impact would be on their quality of life before this study was published.

Shingrix won U.S. regulatory approval in 2017 to help prevent shingles in adults 50 and older.

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When Should I See A Doctor

See your doctor at the first sign of shingles. Getting treated early can help it go away faster and may help you avoid related problems. For instance, shingles on the face can cause hearing or sight problems, including blindness.

If you have a weak immune system and can’t get the vaccine, early treatment is your best defense against shingles.

Sometimes what seems to be shingles is really herpes simplex. Though it usually appears as “cold sores” around the mouth or genitals, this form of herpes can show up elsewhere. A different treatment is used to clear it up. Your doctor can do tests, such as a viral culture, to confirm whether you have shingles and to get you the right treatment.

What Are The Possible Side Effects Of Shingles Immunisation

All medicines and vaccines can have side effects. Sometimes they are serious, most of the time theyre not.

For most people, the chance of having a serious side effect from a vaccine is much lower than the chance of serious harm if you caught the disease.

Talk to your doctor about possible side effects of shingles vaccines, or if you have possible side effects that worry you.

Common side effects of shingles vaccines include:

  • pain, redness, swelling or itching where the needle went in

Serious reactions to immunisation are rare. With Zostavax® vaccination, very rarely a generalised chickenpox-like rash may occur around 24 weeks after vaccination. This may be associated with fever and feeling unwell. This rash may be a sign of a serious reaction to the virus in the vaccine. Seek medical attention and inform of recent Zostavax vaccination if you experience this reaction.

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Allergic Reaction To Shingles Vaccination

There is a very small chance of a severe allergic reaction to the shingles vaccine, as there is with other vaccines.

Anaphylaxis is very serious and potentially life-threatening, but it can be treated. All healthcare staff that deliver vaccinations are trained in this. With prompt treatment, people fully recover from anaphylaxis.

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