CDC Recommends Shingles Vaccine for Seniors

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

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 recently.

People over 60 should avoid the debilitating symptoms of shingles by getting the zoster vaccine ________________

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. Researchers found that, overall, in those aged 60 and above the vaccine reduced the occurrence of shingles by about 50 percent. For individuals aged 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 (VZV), 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 lifetime, resulting in about one million cases of shingles per year.

Chickenpox (also called varicella) is usually mild, but it can be serious, especially in young 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.

Shingles Facts Anyone who has had the chicken pox virus can get shingles. That means 95 percent of adults are at risk. Approximately one-third of the U.S. population will get shingles. More than half of older adults do not understand the seriousness of shingles and its complications. Among those who get shingles, more than one-third will develop serious complications. The risk of complications rises after 60 years of age. Appropriate and immediate treatment of herpes zoster can control acute symptoms and reduce the risk of longer term complications. Starting anti-viral medication within 72 hours of the onset of shingles can reduce the pain and the length of time the outbreak lasts.

For more information about the shingles vaccine, please visit the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).