A new study has shown that shingles vaccine was 74 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations three years after shots of vaccination. Moreover, the study also proves that serious complications from shingles are reduced.
However, the effectiveness of 74 percent will be lowered to 55 percent after four or more years of getting the shots of the shingles vaccine. According to US News, the immunization was 57 percent effective three years after vaccination while 45 percent effective against lasting pain after four years.
The study was pioneered by Dr. Hector Izurieta from U.S. Food and Drugs Administration's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. The Food and Drugs Administration funded the study. The research team has evaluated information accumulated from 2007 to 2014 which includes 2 million medicare beneficiaries. The results suggested that shingles vaccine proves high effectiveness against hospitalization and lasting pain.
Shingles vaccine comes with sustained and great outcomes and definitely proves that it is beneficial and that the seniors should be encouraged to be vaccinated, as stated by Dr. Izurieta. Furthermore, Dr. Izurieta added that there is no difference in the effectiveness of the vaccine between age and groups and that the protections level has declined over time prior to the shot.
From the website of Mayo Clinic, the shingles vaccine is recommended for adults 60 years old and older, whether they already had shingles or not. The vaccine is given as a single shot or injection usually in the upper arm. Similar to another vaccine, common side effects includes redness, pain, tenderness, swelling, and pruritus at the injection site.
Some people who were already injected with shingles vaccine still suffers from the disease, however, the severity and duration are still reduced. As stated in the currently conducted study, the vaccine seems most effective against severe cases of shingles that require hospitalization due to lasting and chronic pain. Meanwhile, shingles is a painful skin rash caused by the varicella-zoster virus and sometimes called herpes zoster.
