When was zostavax released

Adults 50 through 59 years who have questions about shingles vaccine should discuss the risks and benefits with a healthcare provider. Talk with your healthcare provider if you have questions about shingles vaccine. The Shingles Prevention Study involved individuals age 60 years and older and found that Zostavax significantly reduced disease in this age group. The vaccine is currently recommended for persons 60 years of age and older.

Someone with a minor acute illness, such as a cold, may be vaccinated. But anyone with a moderate or severe acute illness should usually wait until they recover before getting the vaccine. This includes anyone with a temperature of Protection from shingles vaccine lasts about 5 years. While the vaccine was most effective in people 60 through 69 years old, it also provides some protection for people 70 years old and older. Adults vaccinated before age 60 years might not be protected later in life when the risk for shingles and its complications are greatest.

Top of Page. A vaccine, like any medicine, could possibly cause serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions. However, the risk of a vaccine causing serious harm, or death, is extremely small. It is safe to be around infants and young children, pregnant women, or people with weakened immune systems after you get the shingles vaccine.

There is no documentation of a person getting chickenpox from someone who has received the shingles vaccine which contains varicella zoster virus. Some people who get the shingles vaccine will develop a chickenpox-like rash near the place where they were vaccinated. As a precaution, this rash should be covered until it disappears. In addition, they help to prevent the most concerning sequela of shingles which is persistent, often severe, pain in the site of the reactivation. Neither vaccine provides herd immunity since adults with shingles almost never pass this virus along to others.

The shingles vaccines differ in two important ways. Because the older one is a live virus vaccine, it is not as safe for people with significant immune disease such as advanced cancer, HIV, or treatment with immune suppressive drugs such as steroids or injectable medicines for rheumatoid arthritis. The new shingles vaccine, since it is not a live virus vaccine, does not carry these risks.

The older vaccine had good but limited efficacy and a shorter period of protection as compared to the newer vaccine. That means that using the newer vaccine will reduce even further the possibility of a shingles outbreak and this, in turn, will prevent many cases of post-herpetic neuralgia. A third difference that we need to confirm over time is that the older vaccine did not provide any additional protection after the first administration.

The newer vaccine should offer a longer period of protection and the option of a booster dose at a time when protection is waning. Because these vaccines are directed only at adults, there is no worry about the decision maker being a proxy for the vaccinnee. The use of this vaccine is entirely voluntary, and it may cost money depending on the pharmaceutical benefits program. People with a fear of adjuvants may want to delay their decision to take this vaccine, although the medical community favors providing the vaccine as soon as it is widely available since the onset of shingles is unpredictable.

I will be getting this vaccine as soon as I can even though I had the prior vaccine because I believe the degree of safety and protection is worth the cost. Post-licensure safety monitoring of the vaccine will be conducted by the vaccine manufacturer and via projects such as the Vaccine Safety Datalink.

If you are interested in receiving this vaccine, your physician should have information on its availability some time in early Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What everyone should know about shingles vaccine. Shingles herpes zoster. Immunopotentiators in Modern Vaccines. What you need to know about the new shingles vaccine. Chicago Tribune. October 30, Umansky D. The new shingles vaccine: What you should know.

Consumer Reports. November 1, Food and Drug Administration. Approval letter: Shingrix. October 20, Good article overall, but Shingrix does not need to be frozen - just refrigerated. Also, the current version of Zostavax does not need to be frozen either. The original version of Zostavax was frozen but it was phased out a few years back in favor of the newer refrigerated version.

Thanks for your comment, Jason, and for pointing out my error. I deleted the reference to freezing being required: prescribing information clearly states that the vaccine components should be stored between 2 and 8 degrees C degrees F and discarded if previously frozen.

According to the Merck website, the Zostavax does need to be kept frozen, although, it may be refrigerated only for up to 72 hours, but then it needs to be discarded.

I was wondering why the vaccination is only recommended for ages younger than I understand the older in age the greater the risk of getting shingles but I have only known of two people ever getting shingles and they were infected before the age of Hi, Paige -- the vaccine is recommended for people 50 and older.

Paige, the article explains this - the older live vaccine doesn't cover for very many years, so it is targeted at the demographic most prone to shingles. The newer one covers longer and is expected to be offered to people 50 and over.

Hello, Bob, Data from clinical trials indicates that side effects from the vaccine may include pain and swelling at the injection site most common , and body aches, fever, and headaches.

Hi, Betsy, here is the CDC's recommended immunization schedule for adults. For individual situations, consultation with physicians is always recommended. Is the new vaccine all dead? I had a heart transplant in The main study of Zostavax compared the vaccine with placebo a dummy vaccine in around 39, patients aged between 59 and 99 years. The study was a double-blind trial, which means that neither the doctor nor the patient knew what treatment the patient was receiving.

The patients were followed for 2 to 4. The main measure of effectiveness was based on the number of people who developed shingles and post-herpetic pain. Two further studies looked at Zostavax in over 1, patients aged 50 years or older, of whom were between 50 and 59 years of age.

The studies looked at the ability of the vaccine to stimulate the production of antibodies against varicella-zoster virus in the blood, four weeks after injection. Zostavax was more effective than placebo in preventing shingles. Fewer people developed shingles after vaccination with Zostavax than placebo: of the 19, patients who received Zostavax had shingles during the study, compared with of the 19, who received placebo.

Zostavax was also more effective than placebo in preventing post-herpetic neuralgia: 27 of the Zostavax patients had post-herpetic neuralgia, compared with 80 in the placebo group. The additional two studies showed that patients vaccinated with Zostavax had blood levels of antibodies against varicella-zoster virus that were about two to three times higher four weeks after vaccination.

The effect was seen both in patients aged between 50 and 59 years and in those aged 60 years and older. In studies, the most common side effects with Zostavax are reactions at the site of the injection redness, pain, swelling, itching, warmth and bruising , headache and pain in the arm or leg. Most of these side effects were mild. For the full list of all side effects reported with Zostavax, see the package leaflet. Zostavax must not be used in people who are hypersensitive allergic to any of the components of the vaccine, or to any substances found at trace very low levels in the vaccine such as neomycin an antibiotic.

The vaccine must not be used in people who have problems with their immune system, either because they have a disease such as leukaemia, lymphoma, acquired immune deficiency syndrome AIDS , or because they are taking medicines that affect the immune system.

It must also not be used in patients with active untreated tuberculosis or in pregnant women. For the full list of restrictions, see the package leaflet. A risk management plan has been developed to ensure that Zostavax is used as safely as possible.

Based on this plan, safety information has been included in the summary of product characteristics and the package leaflet for Zostavax, including the appropriate precautions to be followed by healthcare professionals and patients.