A new lawsuit over the Zostavax vaccine alleges that the shot causes serious side effects.

The plaintiff in that lawsuit, Margaret H., says she received the Zostavax vaccine in January 2017 and that she got it for the purpose of preventing shingles. Soon after getting that shot, however, the plaintiff says she developed vision loss and herpes simplex keratitis.

The Zostavax shingles vaccine emerged on to the market as a new option for people at risk for developing shingles to guard against it. The CDC recommends that individuals aged 60 and older get the shingles vaccine whether or not they remember having had chicken pox previously in their life. According to research studies, more than 99 percent of Americans 40 and beyond have gotten chickenpox even if they don’t remember getting the disease.

Unfortunately, as more people have sought out the shingles vaccine as a preventive measure based on government and medical guidelines, the shingles vaccine complaints have grown.

Chief among many Zostavax shingles vaccine complaints include allegations from recipients that they developed shingles anyway. Other patients say they came down with other severe side effects. Some of the common side effects reported by recipients of the Zostavax shingles vaccine include joint or muscle pain, skin rash, eye problems, headaches, and injections site reactions. More concerning is the number of people who have reported that they have developed shingles despite getting the vaccine specifically to avoid that scenario.

In 2014, the manufacturer added information to the label of the vaccine offering more details about side effects. In August of that year, shingles was added to the vaccine’s medical information as a possible side effect.

In 2016, Merck also shared that eye problems could be caused by the vaccine. One vision damage problem connected to the Zostavax vaccine is known as keratitis, which can lead to scarring and inflammation of the eye. Both children and adults who got the vaccine have shown symptoms of vision damage.

What Patients Need to Know About Shingles

Shingles
is a viral infection that causes an uncomfortable rash. It is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. The virus can reactivate as shingles years after a patient has had chickenpox. Shingles is not life threatening, but it can be very painful.

Many elderly people are advised to get the shingles vaccine as a method to ward off the possibility of that virus reactivating in the future. The symptoms of shingles will usually only affect one side of a patient’s body. These include sensitivity to touch, itching, burning pain, tingling, numbness or a red rash that begins a few days after the pain.

Some individuals also experience fatigue, headache, fever, and sensitivity to light after developing shingles.

If the pain or rash occurs near an eye, if the individual is aged 60 or older, or if the person who might have suspected shingles has a weakened immune system, a physician should be contacted immediately to outline a treatment plan and determine next steps.

The Shingles Vaccine Complaints Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-05604-HB, in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.