When Did The New Shingles Vaccine Come Out

What Everyone Should Know About The Shingles Vaccine

Should you get the new vaccine for shingles?

Shingles vaccination is the only way to protect against shingles and postherpetic neuralgia , the most common complication from shingles.

CDC recommends that adults 50 years and older get two doses of the shingles vaccine called Shingrix to prevent shingles and the complications from the disease. Adults 19 years and older who have weakened immune systems because of disease or therapy should also get two doses of Shingrix, as they have a higher risk of getting shingles and related complications.

Your doctor or pharmacist can give you Shingrix as a shot in your upper arm.

Shingrix provides strong protection against shingles and PHN. In adults 50 years and older who have healthy immune systems, Shingrix is more than 90% effective at preventing shingles and PHN. Immunity stays strong for at least the first 7 years after vaccination. In adults with weakened immune systems, studies show that Shingrix is 68%-91% effective in preventing shingles, depending on the condition that affects the immune system.

New Shingles Vaccine For Seniors Does It Work

Shingles is a painful itching rash caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same bug behind chickenpox. The virus lies dormant in the nerve tissue of people whove had chickenpox, and years later can reactivate itself. Anyone whos had chickenpox can develop shingles, but about half of all cases occur in people 60 and older, according to the CDC. This disease afflicts about one of every three people in this age group.

Courtesy Zoztavax.com

Who’s Most At Risk Of Shingles

People tend to get shingles more often as they get older, especially over the age of 70. And the older you are, the worse it can be. The shingles rash can be extremely painful, such that sufferers cannot even bear the feeling of their clothes touching the affected skin.

The pain of shingles can also linger long after the rash has disappeared, even for many years. This lingering pain is called post-herpetic neuralgia .

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Fda Approves A New Vaccine For Shingles That Provides Broad Protection

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a second shingles vaccine, giving pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline a go-ahead to market Shingrix in the United States.

The FDA approval marks the second regulatory green light for the vaccine in a weeks time. Last Friday Shingrix was approved for sale in Canada. Regulatory filings are also in the works for the European Union, Australia, and Japan, GSK said.

The vaccine offered 98 percent protection in the first year and that protection remained at 85 percent or higher three years after vaccination stronger protection than the only other shingles vaccine on the market, Mercks Zostavax.

GSK has been keenly awaiting the FDAs ruling, eager to get to market a vaccine analysts estimate could reach $1 billion a year in sales by 2022.

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 ZostavaxÂ® 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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New Shingles Vaccine Changes Recommendations For Adults

The pain associated with shingles can be unbearable. It can last for months and be so debilitating that even routine tasks become too difficult to bear. The single dose Zostavax® vaccine had been recommended since 2006, and it is about 50 percent effective at protecting against a shingles rash and about 75-80 percent effective at protecting against pain.

Fortunately, a new shingles vaccine, called Shingrix®, offers improved protection not only from developing the disease, but also against the severe pain associated with shingles. Shingrix is 95 percent effective at protecting against both the rash and associated pain. It is given as two doses separated by two to six months.

In this video, Dr. Offit discusses the differences between the two shingles vaccines and updated recommendations for adults. These include getting the vaccine at 50 years of age instead of 60 and being revaccinated if youve previously received the older version .

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Critical to the performance of the new vaccine will be decisions that will come next week, at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The ACIP an expert panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine issues is expected to vote Wednesday to recommend use of this vaccine in adults 50 and older.

It may also vote to recommend the vaccine on a preferential basis in other words, suggest that doctors use the GSK vaccine over the Merck one. At a meeting of the committee in June, a CDC vaccine expert who heads a Shingrix work group, Dr. Kathleen Dooling, alerted the ACIP to the fact the work group was leaning toward proposing a preferential recommendation for the new vaccine.

Dooling said the majority of members of the working group supported the idea. They were concerned, she said, that if a preference wasnt named, insurance companies might opt to reimburse for the cost of the cheaper vaccine regardless of which is best. And it would require time-strapped doctors to try to figure out which vaccine to give their patients.

Zostavax offers moderate protection against shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia in the first few years after vaccination 51 percent and 67 percent, respectively. But the protection wanes quite quickly and appears to be gone within seven to nine years after vaccination.

Who Should Get The Shingles Vaccine

The CDC recommends all healthy adults ages 50 years and older get two doses of the shingles vaccine to prevent shingles and problems that can develop after youve had the disease. The two doses should be separated by two to six months. You should get the shingles vaccine even if you:

Have had shingles: If youve had shingles in the past, you should get the shingles vaccine to help prevent getting the disease again. You should wait until the shingles rash is gone before getting the vaccine.
Arent sure if youve had chickenpox: Studies show more than 99% of Americans ages 40 and older have had chickenpox at some point in their lives. You should get the shingles vaccine whether or not you remember having chickenpox because theyre caused by the same virus.
Received the old shingles vaccine : Before November 18, 2020, people were vaccinated with a shingles vaccine called Zostavax. You cant get Zostavax in the United States anymore. If you were vaccinated with Zostavax, you should get vaccinated with the new shingles vaccine, Shingrix.

Who Should Not Get Shingrix

What You Should Know About Shingles Vaccines | Johns Hopkins Medicine

You should not get Shingrix if you:

Have ever had a severe allergic reaction to any component of the vaccine or after a dose of Shingrix.
Currently have shingles.
Currently are pregnant. Women who are pregnant should wait to get Shingrix.

If you have a minor illness, such as a cold, you may get Shingrix. But if you have a moderate or severe illness, with or without fever, you should usually wait until you recover before getting the vaccine.

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If Youre 50 Or Older Get Shingrix

Shingrix provides strong protection from shingles and long-term nerve pain.
Get Shingrix even if you already had shingles, because you can get the disease more than once.
Your risk of shingles and complications increases as you age.
You need 2 doses of Shingrix. Get the second dose 2 to 6 months after you get the first dose.

Make A Plan To Get 2 Doses

You can get Shingrix at your doctors office or pharmacy. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about getting Shingrix.
Plan to get your second dose of Shingrix 2 to 6 months after your first dose.

Five years later, I still take prescription medication for pain. My shingles rash quickly developed into open, oozing sores that in only a few days required me to be hospitalized. I could not eat, sleep, or perform even the most minor tasks. It was totally debilitating. The pain still limits my activity levels to this day.

A 63-year-old harpist who was unable to continue playing due to shingles

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Who Is A Candidate For The Shingles Vaccine

Healthy adults aged 50 years and older are candidates for the shingles vaccine Shingrix. There is no age limit, and you can get the Shingrix vaccine even if you have already had shingles, have had the Zostavax vaccine, or do not remember whether you have had chickenpox in the past.

If you have already had shingles, getting the Shingrix can help protect you from the disease coming back. Studies have reported that almost every American aged 40 years and older have more than a 99% chance of having had chickenpox, and people who have had chickenpox are more likely to develop shingles in the future because both are caused by the same virusthe varicella-zoster virus.

After having shingles, there is no duration that you need to wait before getting vaccinated, although you should wait until the rash has completely disappeared. Shringrix is given in 2 doses 2-6 months apart.

Side effects are usually mild and may last for two to three days. No severe side effects for Shingrix have been reported so far.

How Do You Get Immunised Against Shingles

You can only get the shingles vaccine on its own, not as a combination vaccine. It is given as a needle.

Shingles vaccines include:

Zostavax – PDF 21 KB

Note the Zostavax vaccine contains a small amount of the live virus. Some people may not be able to receive a live vaccine for medical reasons, please discuss with your doctor or immunisation provider for further information.

Should You Get Shingrix If You Had The Zostavax Shingles Vaccine

It is recommended that you get two doses of Shingrix even if you got a different shingles vaccine in the past. Before Shingrix was approved, the Zostavax shingles vaccine was available. It was discontinued in November 2020 as Shingrix is much more effective. If you had the Zostavax vaccine, talk to your healthcare provider about getting Shingrix.

Mayo Clinic Q And A: New Shingles Vaccine Recommended For Most Adults Over Age 50

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: How effective is the shingles vaccine? Who should get it? Is it recommended even for those who have already had shingles?

ANSWER: A new vaccine, called Shingrix, is now available thats very effective in preventing shingles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone age 50 and older with a healthy immune system receive this vaccine, whether youve had shingles before or not.

Unlike the other vaccine thats been available for shingles since 2006, called Zostavax, this new vaccine is inactivated. That means it does not contain a live virus. Because of that, it is safe in people who have weakened immune systems. However, the CDC has not yet made recommendations for Shingrix vaccination in these individuals. If you have a weakened immune system, talk to your health care provider about your vaccination options for shingles.

Shingles is caused by a virus called varicella-zoster. When youre first infected with this virus, it causes the itchy rash known as chickenpox. Although chickenpox is uncomfortable, most people recover from it without any lasting problems. But after the rash of chickenpox goes away, the virus does not. Instead, the varicella-zoster virus goes into hiding in your bodys nerve cells.

Is Shingrix Or Zostavax Better

Shingrix is more effective than Zostavax. Shingrix is 97% effective at preventing shingles in adults aged 50 to 69 years old whereas Zostavax is only 70% effective at preventing shingles in the same age group. Shingrix consistently prevents shingles in older adults while the effectiveness of Zostavax decreases with increasing age. However, Shingrix has more systemic side effects than Zostavax.

Who Should Get Zostavax

New shingles vaccine – if you’re a boomer, you need to take it

People 60 years of age or older should get shingles vaccine . They should get the vaccine whether or not they recall having had chickenpox, which is caused by the same virus as shingles. Studies show that more than 99% of Americans aged 40 and older have had chickenpox, even if they dont remember getting the disease. There is no maximum age for getting shingles vaccine.

Two vaccines are licensed and recommended to prevent shingles in the U.S.. Zoster vaccine live has been in use since 2006. Recombinant zoster vaccine , has been in use since 2017 and is recommended by ACIP as the preferred shingles vaccine.

Even if you have had shingles, you can still receive shingles vaccine to help prevent future occurrences of the disease. There is no specific length of time you must wait after having shingles before receiving shingles vaccine, but generally you should make sure the shingles rash has disappeared before getting vaccinated. The decision on when to get vaccinated should be made with your healthcare provider.

Talk with your healthcare provider if you have questions about shingles vaccine. Shingles vaccine is available in doctors offices and pharmacies. To find doctors offices or pharmacies near you that offer the vaccine, visit Zostavax or HealthMap Vaccine Finder.

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Shingrix Vs Zostavax: Differences Similarities And Which Is Better For You

There are currently two vaccines that can be given to prevent herpes zoster, more commonly known as shingles: Shingrix and Zostavax. A shingles vaccine is recommended for adults once they turn 50.

Most people have been infected with the varicella zoster virus if theyve ever had chickenpox. After chickenpox resolves, the varicella zoster virus lies dormant in the body for years, if not forever. Later in life, the virus can reactivate as shingles and cause a painful rash that usually wraps around the face or torso.

Although Shingrix and Zostavax work in similar ways to prevent shingles, there are some important differences between the two.

Why A New Shingles Vaccine

Did we need a new shingles vaccine? To answer that question, it helps to have a bit of background on this infection.

Shingles, which is also called herpes zoster, occurs when the chickenpox virus , which is dormant in those whove had the illness, reawakens later in life. Almost all adults older than 40 carry the chickenpox virusand the older we get, the more the risk of getting shingles climbs. According to the CDC, the infection strikes about 1 million people in the U.S. each year and nearly one in three adults will experience a bout of shingles in their lifetime.

The two to four weeks of shingles, marked by symptoms such as a blistery and painful rash on one side of the body, can be difficult enough. But about one in five people with shingles go on to develop postherpetic neuralgia, or PHN, which is nerve pain that can linger for months or even years.

Since 2006, weve had Zostavaxapproved for those between 50 and 59 but recommended by the CDC for adults 60 and olderas the sole bulwark against shingles. Zostavax offers 70 percent protection against shingles for people between 50 and 59 but only 18 percent in people 80 and older, according to the Pink Sheet, which reports on the pharmaceutical industry.

When all ages are taken into consideration, Zostavax cuts the chance of shingles by only 51 percent and the risk of PHN by 67 percent.

Shingles is a big problem with immunocompromised people, Schaffner says.

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Who Shouldnt Get The Shingles Vaccine

There are a few situations in which shingles vaccination may not be right for you. You should not get Shingrix if youâve ever had a severe reaction to a vaccine. This means you had trouble breathing or swelling in your mouth or airway, a life-threatening condition called anaphylaxis.

You should also skip Shingrix if:

You have allergies to any parts of the vaccine. These include gelatin and the antibiotic neomycin. If you have other allergies, tell your doctor or pharmacist about them before you get Shingrix.
You currently have shingles or another illness. You can get the vaccine when youâre well.
You are pregnant or breastfeeding. You should wait until youâve stopped breastfeeding to get vaccinated.
You happened to test negative for VZV, the virus that causes chickenpox. If youâre older than 50, you probably had chickenpox even if you donât remember it. The CDC does not recommend testing for this. However, if a blood test shows youâve never had the childhood illness, you should get the chickenpox vaccine instead.

If you have a disease or take medications that affect your immune system, talk to your doctor about the pros and cons of Shingrix.

âItâs an individualized decision based on factors such as the specific medications and conditions of the person sitting in front of you,â Kistler says. She often consults with her patientsâ specialist doctors to make decisions about Shingrix.

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