C.D.C. Panel Recommends a New Shingles Vaccine

C.D.C. Panel Recommends a New Shingles Vaccine
Shingrix is given in two doses, and the company said clinical trials showed it to
be about 98 percent effective for one year and about 85 percent over three years.
“Shingles is an unappreciated and common cause of severe problems throughout the nervous system.”
Dr. Oaklander said that while rash symptoms lead some people to consider shingles as minor as a bad
sunburn, the illness can cause strokes, encephalitis, spinal cord damage and loss of vision.
WASHINGTON — In an unusually close vote, an advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention on Wednesday recommended the use of a new vaccine to prevent shingles over an older one that was considered less effective.
According to the C. D.C., almost one of every three people in the United States will contract shingles, a viral infection
that can result in a painful rash and lasting nerve damage.
The recommendation of the advisory committee will be considered an endorsement of Shingrix over Zostavax,
although the closeness of the committee vote, 8 to 7, may mitigate the market loss for Merck.
By preventing shingles, the vaccine also drastically reduces the overall incidence of severe
nerve pain, a lasting complication for about one in three people who get shingles.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also recommended that adults who have received the older vaccine get the new one.