Shingles Vaccines Effectively Reduces Virus-Related Complications

A recent study found that the herpes zoster (HZ) vaccine provided protection against HZ in individuals of all ages, and also reduced the risk of herpes zoster-associated hospitalization and the development of postherpetic neuralgia.

In their retrospective cohort study, researchers examined data from approximately 2 million Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older from January 2007 through July 2014. For the primary analysis, researchers matched vaccinated beneficiaries with beneficiaries who were not vaccinated for HZ. For their secondary analysis, they matched the vaccinated participants to unvaccinated beneficiaries who received the pneumococcal vaccination. Researchers analyzed HZ outcomes in the community and hospital setting, including incidences of ophthalmic zoster and postherpetic neuralgia.
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The primary analysis showed that the effectiveness of the vaccine for community HZ was 33% (95% CI: 32%–35%) during the first 3 years, and dropped to 19% (95% CI: 17%–22%) for the subsequent 4+ years after vaccination. The effectiveness of the vaccine against postherpetic neuralgia was 57% (95% CI: 52%–61%) during the first 3 years and dropped to 45% (95% CI: 36%–53%) for the subsequent 4+ years after vaccination, and the effectiveness against HZ-associated hospitalization was 74% (95% CI: 67%–79%) for the first 3 years and dropped to 55% (95% CI: 39%–67%) for the subsequent 4+ years after vaccination.

In the secondary analysis, the vaccine was found to be 37% effective for community HZ (95% CI: 36%–39%) for the first 3 years and 22% effective (95% CI: 20%–25%) for the subsequent 4+ years after vaccination.

Researchers did not find significant differences in the effectiveness of the vaccine between age groups.

“In both the primary and secondary analyses, [the herpes zoster vaccine] provided protection against HZ across all ages, but effectiveness declined over time. [The effectiveness of the vaccine] was higher and better preserved over time for [postherpetic neuralgia] and HZ-associated hospitalizations than for community HZ,” the researchers concluded.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Izurieta HS, Wernecke M, Kelman J, et al. Effectiveness and duration of protection provided by the live-attenuated herpes zoster vaccine in the Medicare population ages 65 years and older [published online February 27, 2017]. Clin Infec Dis. doi: doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciw854.