A New Jersey woman has filed a Zostavax lawsuit because she claims she developed shingles after vaccine treatment.

Plaintiff Peggy S. claims that she received the Zostavax shingles vaccine on Oct. 15, 2013. She says that she received the vaccine in order to prevent the possibility of developing shingles. Her Zostavax lawsuit alleges that nonetheless, she developed shingles after vaccine treatment.

In July 2016, “as a direct result of the vaccine, [Peggy] suffered from a Shingles outbreak, in addition to chronic pain, rash and lesions to various parts of her body.”

Her lawsuit also claims that she suffered mental and emotional distress as a result of the “physical limitations and seriousness of her condition.” She is holding Merck, the makers of the Zostavax shingles vaccine, responsible for her pain and suffering.

Peggy says she did not think, when getting the Zostavax vaccine, that she would develop shingles after vaccine treatment. She alleges the wrongful conduct of Merck and that as a result, she has suffered “serious, progressive, permanent, and incurable injuries, as well as significant conscious pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, physical impairment and injury.”

What is the Zostavax Shingles Vaccine?

The Zostavax shingles vaccine is a vaccine that is intended to stop adults from developing shingles. Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV). This is the same virus that causes chickenpox. After someone gets chickenpox, the varicella zoster virus stays in the body in a dormant state.

Sometimes, the varicella zoster virus can be reactivated much later due to different factors including disease, stress, aging and even vaccination.

The Zostavax vaccine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2006 for “the prevention of herpes zoster (shingles) in individuals 60 years of age and older when administered as a single-dose.”

The way the Zostavax vaccine works is that the virus is delivered back to the individual in such a way to trigger the immune system to take notice. When this happens, the individual should be vaccinated against the actual disease.

This works most of the time, but sometimes, patients develop shingles after vaccine treatment. Some critics of the Zostavax vaccine claim that the live virus is not weakened enough, increasing the risk of patients developing actual shingles after vaccine treatment. If the virus is not weakened enough, it is called “under-attenuated.”

Under-attenuated live virus has been shown to actually cause the virus it was meant to prevent. This is why many, including Peggy, believe that Merck is to blame when patients develop shingles after vaccine treatment.

Shingles After Vaccine Treatment

When a patient develops shingles after vaccine treatment, the condition can be painful and severe. It is an acute inflammation of the nerve ganglia that may cause painful rashes and sores on the body. These rashes and blisters appear on a patient’s torso area and pain may persist even after the blisters and sores are gone.

If you have developed shingles after vaccine treatment, you may be eligible for legal compensation.

Peggy’s Zostavax Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-11502-PGS-TJB in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.