Few Takers for the Shingles Vaccine

The good news about the shingles vaccine, recommended for all adults age 60 or older with normal immune systems, is that it works even better than scientists first thought. A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the rate of shingles was 55 percent lower in the 75,761 people age 60 or older who received the vaccine, compared with those who did not. Formally known as herpes zoster, shingles occurs when the varicella zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox and can lay dormant in nerve cells for decades, reactivates to cause a painful skin rash. In some, the intense pain can persist for months after the rash clears, a complication called postherpetic neuralgia. . read more.