Vaccine Gains: Shot protects seniors from shingles flare-ups
By Nathan Seppa
A new vaccine has prevented half the cases of shingles in elderly people participating in a trial. When the painful disease did appear, it was generally less severe and cleared up faster than it did in study participants who got an inert shot.
The findings could pave the way for regulatory approval of the experimental vaccine. “I wouldn’t hesitate to give it to anyone over 60,” says study coauthor Michael N. Oxman, a virologist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and the University of California, San Diego. People with compromised immunity might have to receive smaller vaccine doses than those given in the experiment, says Oxman, who himself received the shot in a preliminary test of the vaccine.