Vaccine Information Statement | Shingles Recombinant | VIS (original) (raw)

Recombinant zoster (shingles) vaccine can prevent shingles.

Shingles (also called herpes zoster, or just zoster) is a painful skin rash, usually with blisters. In addition to the rash, shingles can cause fever, headache, chills, or upset stomach. Rarely, shingles can lead to complications such as pneumonia, hearing problems, blindness, brain inflammation (encephalitis), or death.

The risk of shingles increases with age. The most common complication of shingles is long-term nerve pain called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). PHN occurs in the areas where the shingles rash was and can last for months or years after the rash goes away. The pain from PHN can be severe and debilitating.

The risk of PHN increases with age. An older adult with shingles is more likely to develop PHN and have longer lasting and more severe pain than a younger person.

People with weakened immune systems also have a higher risk of getting shingles and complications from the disease.

Shingles is caused by varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you have chickenpox, the virus stays in your body and can cause shingles later in life. Shingles cannot be passed from one person to another, but the virus that causes shingles can spread and cause chickenpox in someone who has never had chickenpox or has never received chickenpox vaccine.