A new clinical trial has identified an experimental vaccine against shingles that offers more effective protection against the virus than the existing vaccine. Shingles is a painful rash that’s triggered by a reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox. After a person is infected with chickenpox, the virus remains dormant in the body. It is kept in check by a robust immune system, but as people age and their immune systems weaken, the dormant virus can awaken and manifest itself as shingles.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that about one-third of Americans develop shingles at some point. According to the CDC, shingles causes a painful rash on one side of the body or face that typically clears up in a few weeks. However, some people develop a complication which causes severe and lingering pain in areas where the rash appeared, and treatments for that are not very effective. The best way to manage shingles is through prevention. Since 2008, the CDC has advised adults 60 years and older to get the existing shingles vaccine, Zostavax, regardless of whether they think they had chickenpox or not. Zostavax cuts the risk of shingles roughly in half, and immunity wanes within five years.
The experimental vaccine was found to protect 90 percent of adults age 70 and up, and protection was still effective four years later. The trial involved nearly 14,000 adults 70 years and older. The new vaccine uses a weakened live virus to stimulate the immune response to the shingles virus and creates a stronger immune response than the current vaccine. However, until the new vaccine receives U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, healthcare providers continue to recommend that adults get the existing Zostavax vaccine when they reach age 60. RVNA is able to provide shingles vaccinations with a doctor’s prescription on a walk-in basis or by appointment. Call 203 438-5555 ext. 1119 for more information.
For additional information, visit RVNA at www.ridgefieldvna.org