Ask An Expert: Shingles Vaccine

Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Ask An Expert: Shingles Vaccine

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Question:

If you have never had chickenpox, should you get the shingles vaccine Zostavax?

Answer:

Although you were never diagnosed with chickenpox, it is very likely you were infected during childhood. Many people who contract the virus have minor symptoms and don't experience the classic rash.

Even if you were never infected, you are still a candidate for Zostavax. Zostavax is the vaccine recommended for people age 60 and over to help prevent shingles and decrease the risk of persistent nerve pain following an episode of shingles (called post-herpetic neuralgia).

The active ingredient in Zostavax is the same as the ingredient in the chickenpox vaccine for kids, but the dose in Zostavax is 14 times stronger. For you, the vaccine makes sense. It protects you from getting chickenpox in case you never were infected. If you were infected and didn't know it, Zostavax decreases your risk of getting shingles.

Howard LeWine, M.D., is chief editor of Internet Publishing at Harvard Health Publications. He is recognized as an outstanding clinician and teacher and is a recipient of the Internal Medicine Teacher of the Year award at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. LeWine continues to practice Internal Medicine; most recently he became a hospitalist after practicing primary care for over 20 years.

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Last updated:	July 01, 2007

Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.

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