Shingles vaccine urged for every older American
People age 60 and older should receive a vaccination to guard against shingles, a viral infection that causes painful and blistering rashes, according to federal health officials in the USA.
The risk of getting shingles grows especially serious as people age, beginning at around age 50, and is highest among the elderly.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it is recommending a single dose of Zostavax, the only vaccine to prevent shingles, for people age 60 and older, even if they have had a prior episode of shingles. Zostavax is a vaccine produced by Merck & Co.
The CDC said Zostavax has been found to be highly effective in warding off shingles, cutting the occurrence of shingles by about 50% in people 60 and older. It’s even more effective in the 60-69 age bracket, where shingles occurrences have been cut by 64% with Zostavax, the CDC said.
Shingles is very common in the US society. The CDC said more than 43 million adults over the age of 60 in the United States are estimated to be at risk for shingles, and about a third of all Americans will eventually get shingles, including half of all people who live to age 85.
There is no cure for the painful condition, which is also known as herpes zoster. After a person has had chicken pox, the virus remains dormant in the body, and years later can reactivate as shingles.
“It is a nasty, life-altering affliction. Although the vaccine is not perfect, it’s pretty good,” Dr William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and vice president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told the Reuters news agency.
