Shingles: New vaccine also protects the elderly

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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Shingles is not a trivial matter: The main problem is not skin symptoms such as blisters and redness. It is inflamed nerve tracts that often cause unbearable pain for months and sometimes even permanent damage. A new vaccine is now supposed to help.

Chickenpox viruses become active again

Herpes zoster, as shingles is medically called, is caused by the same virus as chickenpox. Even if the itchy blistering rash disappears after the first infection, surviving viruses nestle in the central nervous system. They can slumber there for life - or they become active again. This happens especially after the age of 50, when the defenses of the person slowly weaken.

The rash of shingles, which usually occurs along individual nerve tracts, heals after two to four weeks. But the pain can last much longer. From three months onwards, doctors speak of post-zoster neuralgia.

Dead vaccine beats live immunization

There are already vaccinations that can prevent the zoster virus from flaring up again. They are based on so-called live vaccines, in which the patient is injected with weakened viruses. But they do not work particularly well with older people. In the age group of 50 to 59 year olds, vaccination protection is just under 70 percent, of those over 70 years old it only protects 37.6 percent.

A vaccine approved in Germany since May is different: its effectiveness is still more than 90 percent even for people over 80. It is a so-called dead vaccine, which only contains special components of the pathogen and various active enhancers. Initial long-term observations suggest that the protective effect could last longer than with older vaccines.

More common side effects

However, its good protective effect is accompanied by a comparatively high rate of side effects: reactions at the vaccination site such as swelling and redness occurred in almost 80 percent of those vaccinated. 66.1 percent reported muscle pain, fatigue, fever or headache, which usually subsided after two to four days.

No official vaccination recommendation in Germany yet

The US health authority has already changed its vaccination recommendation in favor of the new vaccine from the US manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline. A similar recommendation from the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) in Germany is still pending. Therefore, the health insurers do not cover the costs for the vaccination in this country by default, but some want to reimburse them voluntarily now. It is therefore worth asking your own health insurance company.

Herpes zoster affects many people

Around one in five people will develop herpes zoster at one point in their life. In Germany there are 400,000 every year. Ideally, treatment should start within 72 hours of the rash appearing. But often the symptoms are ambiguous and the correct diagnosis is made too late. This increases the risk of a chronic course.

Symptoms of shingles

With shingles, the patient initially feels exhausted and sick. Then red spots form on his skin, later blisters develop. These spread along the affected nerve cord, for example in a belt shape from the spine to the front of the body. But the face can also be affected. Then the disease is often particularly severe. Above all, the patients often suffer from severe burning, stabbing and pulling pains.

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