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CDC Recommends Shingles Vaccine for Seniors
Spectrum Staff
People
age-60 and older should be vaccinated against shingles, or herpes
zoster, a condition often marked by debilitating chronic pain, the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended last
week.
CDC recommends a single dose of the zoster vaccine, Zostavax, for adults 60 years
of age and older even if they have had a prior episode of shingles.
The new full recommendation replaces a provisional recommendation the CDC made
in 2006 after the vaccine was licensed by the FDA and recommended by the CDC’s
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a committee of immunization experts
who advise CDC on immunization policy.
Researchers found that overall in those ages 60 and above the vaccine reduced
the occurrence of shingles by about 50 percent. For individuals ages 60-69 it
reduced occurrence by 64 percent. The most common side effects in people who
received Zostavax were redness, pain and tenderness, swelling at the site of
injection, itching and headache.
Over 95 percent of people are infected by the varicella zoster virus during their
lifetime. The virus causes the common childhood disease chickenpox and then becomes
dormant within the nerves. If it reactivates later in life, the result can be
shingles.
Shingles is characterized by clusters of blisters which develop on one side of
the body in a band-like pattern and can cause severe pain that may last for weeks,
months or years. About one in three persons will develop shingles during their
lifetimes, resulting in about one million cases of shingles per year.
Chickenpox (also called varicella) is usually mild, but it can be serious, especially
in infants and adults. Children who have never had chickenpox should get two
doses of chickenpox vaccine starting at 12 months of age.
The risk of contracting shingles increases with age starting at around 50 and
is highest in the elderly. Half of people living to age-85 have had or will get
shingles. The risk of experiencing chronic pain also increases with age.
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