Recent lawsuits filed in New Jersey have raised questions about whether or not it is possible to get shingles after being vaccinated. While the chances of getting an illness from a vaccination are extremely small, it’s not unheard of. The reason is that all vaccines contain a small amount of the pathogen from which it has been designed in order to “train” the immune system to recognize and guard against it. In some cases, however, a vaccine may have been defectively designed or it causes problems that the drugmaker failed to anticipate.

What Are Shingles?

Shingles
is also known as herpes zoster and occurs due to the reactivation of the same virus that causes chickenpox. The chickenpox virus remains dormant in the nerve cells and can come back to life in certain individuals who have risk factors. When this happens, the result is painful skin rashes with blisters in localized areas of the body.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), attacks can last from two to four weeks, though some people continue to suffer chronic nerve pain, or posttherpetic neuraligia (PHN), for several months or years after a bout of shingles has cleared up.

Who is at Risk for Shingles?

Risk factors for shingles include:

• advanced age (50 years and older)
• compromised immune function
• having chickenpox at 18 months of age or younger

Medical science is not clear on how or why the varicella-zoster virus remains in the body or exactly how it is reactivated.

Are There Treatments for Shingles?

The chances of getting shingles after being vaccinated are up to 90 percent lower than without a vaccination. A vaccination can also reduce the chances or severity of PHN. Those who wind up developing shingles can be helped with an antiviral medication, such as acyclovir (Sitavig, Zovirax), which can reduce the severity and the duration of an attack, provided they are treated within 72 hours of onset.

How Does Someone Get Shingles After Being Vaccinated?

While this is unusual, it has been known to happen. Plaintiffs in New Jersey said they took Zostavax in order to avoid getting shingles, but instead, wound up suffering from a recurring strain of the disease.

As noted earlier, vaccines such as Zostavax contain a live, but weakened form of the virus – just enough to provoke the immune system into action. Creating a vaccine requires that the virus be strong enough to get the attention of antibodies, but too weak to infect the patient. New Jersey plaintiffs claim that drugmaker Merck made the virus too strong, and as a result, the zoster herpes virus that had been dormant in these patients’ bodies was reactivated. Unfortunately, when this live virus came in contact with the old, dormant version, the result was a more virulent strain of shingles that is resistant to treatment.

Are There Other Problems With Zostavax?

Since 2017, there have been more than 1,000 adverse event reports regarding Zostavax side effects, which have caused:

• tachycardia or arrhythmia
• respiratory distress
• dizziness
• hives
• anaphylaxis

Anyone who experiences these symptoms after getting vaccinated with Zostavax should seek medical attention immediately.