What is the shingles vaccination?
The shingles vaccine protects those vaccinated from the outbreak of shingles (herpes zoster). This disease is caused by varicella zoster viruses, which cause chickenpox when first infected, then remain in the body and may cause another disease later in life: shingles.
Vaccination spares most vaccinated people the skin rash and the pain that can last for weeks or months.
Read more about the causes, symptoms and consequences of herpes zoster in the article on shingles.
The shingles vaccine
For the shingles vaccination (herpes zoster vaccination), the Standing Committee on Vaccination at the Robert Koch Institute (STIKO) recommends a dead vaccine. It contains a specific component of the shingles pathogen that stimulates the immune system to produce specific antibodies.
Shingles vaccination: What side effects can occur?
Shingles vaccination with the Tot vaccine is considered safe. The studies conducted for the approval of the vaccine showed no evidence of serious side effects or the occurrence of autoimmune diseases as a result of the vaccination.
About one in ten people vaccinated develop local reactions at the injection site (pain, redness, swelling) and/or general symptoms such as headache, muscle aches, fever or fatigue. Sometimes the lymph nodes also swell. Joint pain also occurs occasionally.
These side effects of the shingles vaccine show that the body is reacting to the dead vaccine. They usually subside after one to three days.
How often does the vaccination have to be given?
If you suffer from a weakened immune system, it is best to discuss with your attending physician when the right time is for the two shingles vaccinations. This is especially true if your immune deficiency is due to medical treatment (such as chemotherapy or cortisone therapy).
Second shingles vaccine given too early?
Sometimes the second shingles vaccine is accidentally given less than two months after the first vaccine dose. Then there is no immune protection. To build up the desired vaccine protection, the premature second shingles vaccination is now counted as the first vaccine dose. At the earliest two and at the latest six months later, the next shingles vaccination will follow.
Second shingles vaccination administered too late?
Shingles vaccination: Who is it recommended for?
Shingles vaccination is particularly useful for older people, because they are much more likely to contract herpes zoster than younger people. In particular, people with a severe underlying disease or a weak immune system (either due to illness or as a result of treatment such as chemotherapy) are at risk: they are not only more susceptible to shingles disease, but also more often develop severe courses and complications.
For this reason, the STIKO experts recommend shingles vaccination with the dead vaccine in this country to the following groups of people:
- All people over 60 years of age
- All people aged 50 and over with a congenital or acquired immune deficiency or an underlying disease (e.g. HIV, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, COPD, asthma, chronic kidney failure)
Shingles vaccination: who should not be vaccinated?
- In case of known allergy to any of the components of the vaccine.
- If allergic reactions occurred after the first dose of the shingles vaccine
- If someone currently has an acute, severe, febrile illness (then the vaccination is postponed until later)
- During pregnancy and breastfeeding
- In children
How effective is the shingles vaccination?
Both shingles disease and persistent nerve pain (post-herpetic neuralgia, post-zoster pain) are well prevented by the recommended dead vaccine. It provides 92 percent protection against shingles and 82 percent protection against post-herpetic neuralgia for people age 50 and older.
Vaccine protection decreases slightly with age: for example, people who were 70 or older at the time of vaccination are about 90 percent protected against shingles.
Shingles vaccination: What else is important
The vaccination is not suitable for the treatment of shingles or its late effects (such as post-herpetic neuralgia)!
Vaccination without known chickenpox disease?
Some people do not know if they have ever had chickenpox and are therefore at risk for shingles. However, chickenpox viruses are highly contagious. Therefore, it is assumed that almost all people over the age of 50 who have grown up in Europe have had chickenpox at some point and thus carry the pathogen dormant in themselves. The shingles vaccination therefore also makes sense if you are unsure about a previous chickenpox infection.
Dead vaccination after live vaccination?
Some elderly people have already received the live shingles vaccine – with its limited effectiveness and duration of action. For them, it is possible to receive the shingles dead vaccine as well. However, the interval between the live and dead shingles vaccine must be at least two months.
Shingles vaccination: costs
The shingles vaccination is a health insurance benefit: The costs for the dead vaccination are covered by the statutory health insurance companies for those people who are recommended by the STIKO to receive the vaccination. Most private health insurers also pay for the shingles vaccination.
Shingles vaccine in short supply: who gets it?
Sometimes vaccines become scarce. This may also affect the shingles vaccine, for example, in times of crisis when there are supply shortages. To learn what doctors do when these shingles vaccine supply shortages occur, read our article Vaccine Shortages.
