A couple has filed a lawsuit alleging they suffer from shingles vaccine adverse effects.

Plaintiffs Kathleen H. and Joseph W. say Kathleen received the Zostavax vaccine in 2017 for the prevention of shingles, medically known as herpes zoster.

They allege she suffered severe side effects from the inoculation, including a stroke, physical limitations, mental and emotional distress and severe, permanent personal injuries.

Joseph is bringing a claim for loss of consortium, due to the effect of Kathleen’s complications on their relationship.

Shingles and Zostavax

The Zostavax shingles vaccine by Merck & Co. and McKesson Corp. became FDA-approved in 2006 to provide protection against shingles in the adult population age 50 and older.

Shingles is the result of the reactivation of the chicken pox virus. After a person has chicken pox, also known as varicella roster, the virus lies dormant inside the nervous system. Decades later, the virus can reactivate, causing shingles.

When stress or age or another suppression or degradation of the immune system occurs, the person can become susceptible to shingles. In an outbreak, blisters begin to appear along a path that follows a string of nerve endings. It can even impact the eyes.

Problems with Shingles Vaccine Adverse Effects

The Zostavax vaccine consists of a live attenuated virus. When a virus is attenuated, the virulence of that virus has been reduced so that the live virus is strong enough to initiate an immune system response to build immunity to the disease without actually developing a case of the disease.

One risk of a live virus vaccine is that it may not be weakened enough. When a live virus vaccine is not weak enough, it is called “under-attenuated,” and can increase the risk of developing the disease the vaccine was created to prevent.

According to the shingles vaccine adverse effects lawsuit, “Once injected, attenuated live virus has been shown to recombine into more virulent strains, causing disease.”

Merck’s list of common side effects from Zostavax include redness, pain, itching, swelling, a hard lump, warmth or bruising at the injection site in addition to a headache. Merck also lists several more serious side effects that can include:

• Allergic reactions that include difficulty breathing or swallowing
• Chicken pox
• Fever
• Hives at injection site
• Joint and muscle pain
• Nausea
• Rash
• Shingles
• Swollen glands near injection site that can last a few weeks
• Guillain-Barre syndrome (tingling in arms or legs, weak muscles, unusual sensations)
• Loss of facial muscle movements

The FDA says studies for Zostavax included 38,000 people in the United States, half of whom received Zostavax and half of whom received a placebo. The participants were followed about three years to see if they developed a case of shingles and if so, how long they endured pain.

Researchers determined that in patients age 60 and up, the Zostavax vaccine only reduced the incidence of shingles by approximately 50 percent overall. The vaccine was effective 64 percent for people ages 60 to 69; was effective 41 percent for people ages 70 to 79; and was only 18 percent effective in those age 80 and beyond.

There is a growing MDL against Merck consisting of plaintiffs who suffered Zostavax adverse side effects.

Kathleen and Joseph’s Shingles Vaccine Adverse Effects Lawsuit is Case No. 2:19-cv-00706-HB in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.