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Shingles Vaccine
In the United States, it is now recommended that all children between 18 months and adolescence take varicella vaccine so that they are protected against chicken pox. People who are vaccinated against chicken pox are less likely to get shingles because a weak attenuated strain of virus in the chicken pox vaccine is less likely to survive in the body over the years. |
However, whether a person can get shingles later in life after he has been vaccinated by chicken pox virus will only be ascertained much later after sufficient data has been collected and studied.
There are some scientists who believe that immunizing children against chicken pox increases the risk of shingles in adults as they have not been immunized during their childhood. This fear arises from the fact that adults take care of children who are down with chicken pox and this in turn boosts their own immunity again and keeps the virus from becoming active. If fewer children get chicken pox because of immunization, then there will be more cases of shingles as time passes by.
Shingles Vaccine:
In May 2006, the FDA approved the first shingles vaccine for adults. This vaccine is known as Zostavax and is approved for use in adults aged 60 years and above who have had chickenpox. The vaccine primarily contains a booster dose of the chicken pox vaccine, which is usually given to children.
It has been seen that single dose of shingles vaccine is more than 60 percent effective in reducing the symptoms of shingles. In addition, the shingles vaccine also reduces incidents of pastherpetic neuralgia by at least two-thirds. Studies are still being conducted on the shingles vaccine to evaluate its effectiveness over a longer period of time.
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Shingles Vaccine
Shingles is a painful rash usually seen in adults but there have been cases of babies with shingles. Shingles is caused by the chicken pox virus, which stays dormant in the body even after the actual chicken pox disappears. If the virus gets active, it causes shingles. 
