i believe that the vaccine has a very weakened strain of the virus.
i don't believe it's a live virus.
i've had the chicken pox as a child but evidently you can get shingles when you're older. i'm not + on any of this. guess i'll have to surf the net.

Pubmed information below

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

The herpes zoster vaccine is a living attenuated vaccine produced from the OKA/Merck strain already used in the vaccine against varicella. Its safety is good among persons 50 years old and over and its efficiency on lowering herpes zoster incidence, on the burden of illness and on post-herpetic neuralgia has been demonstrated in persons over 60 years old.

FDA site information below:

Who should not be immunized with Zostavax?

People who are allergic to neomycin, or any component of the vaccine should not receive Zostavax. Zostavax is a live vaccine and should not be given to individuals who have a weakened immune system caused by treatments that they are taking such as radiation, a class of drugs called corticosteroids, or due to conditions such as AIDS, cancer of the lymph, bone or blood.

Zostavax (Herpes Zoster Vaccine) Questions and Answers
http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVac...ines/UCM070418

Thank you for that information Lady. That was helpful.

I would be interested to know if the vaccine is thought to prevent further shingles outbreaks in those who've already had them at least once before.

I daresay getting vaccinated is a bit like a lottery in that it could work for some but not for others, but having been infected once I most certainly do not want to have to go through shingles again.

At the same time I am wary of vaccines. Not against them ... just wary. As A nurse with MS who worked in a busy hospital, I aways had the flu vaccine. I weighed the pros and cons and made my decision to go with the vaccine, but I don't ever accept something just because it's there.

Before joining NT I didn't even know a shingles vaccine existed, and it may not exist here in the land of Oz, but I wouldn't mind learning more about it in case I get the option of having it or not. It never hurts to be armed with as much information as possible.

Hi,
Maybe this will help. Same FDA site.

Should someone who has already had shingles use the vaccine, so that they don't get them again?

An episode of shingles boosts immunity to the virus so it is unlikely that persons who have had shingles will suffer from them again. The effectiveness of Zostavax in preventing repeated episodes of shingles has not been demonstrated in clinical studies.


In those who were vaccinated with Zostavax, but still developed shingles, the duration of pain was a bit shorter for them versus those who received a placebo. Specifically, the pain of those in the Zostavax group lasted on average for 20 days and for those who received placebo, it lasted for about 22 days. The severity of the pain did not appear to differ among the two groups.

It sounds like a real toss up.. nothing seems clear about the vaccine to me.

Thanks Lady. I guess it's back to my analogy of the lottery because having shingles once most definitely does not preclude you from having them again.

I know it's a different strain of the herpes virus, but it's a bit like saying once you've had a cold sore you'll build up immunity and not get another one.

I do thank you for posting the information though. It's good to have as much info as possible to enable you to make an informed decision.

That's very true.

Btw, I had all the childhood diseases that went around, back in my day before vaccines.

I had the German measles 4 times, and Pityriasis rosea at 16 years old and it reactivated a few times after that in adulthood. I never had a cold sore though. I don't get this whole thing. I never say never..

Interesting stuff. thanks.

I'm led to believe that if you havent had chicken pox, you can get the pox from someone with shingles.
If you havent had the pox, you can't get shingles.

i had the pox vaccine and it didn't work.
i personally wouldn't have faith or take the chance with a shingles vaccine.

I also had the German measles 4 times, twice in my late teens before I was diagnosed. Weird!

gmi