A Kentucky couple recently filed a Merck shingles lawsuit in Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs, Lenora and Robert A., filed their legal claim against Merck, as well as Merck Sharp and Dohme Corp. on Jan. 14.

In their complaint they allege that Merck’s Zostavax vaccine failed to do the one thing it was was marketed and warranted to do — prevent shingles.

The Kentucky couples’ Merck shingles lawsuit joins several others in multidistrict litigation (MDL) No. 2848, currently in a Pennsylvania court. According to the class action lawsuit, Lenora received the Zostavax vaccine to prevent shingles on May 9, 2016.

Lenora says she was inoculated with Zostavax as part of a health maintenance program, but, according to the lawsuit, she became sick within 24 hours after receiving the vaccine.

She alleges she developed abnormal nodules in her lungs secondary to an unspecified organism and was diagnosed with bilateral atypical pneumonia. This problem had no roots in any prior personal or family medical history, according to the complaint.

Lenora says her condition was very serious and allegedly led to limits on her ability to exert herself physically. She says she and her husband also suffered mental and emotional distress because of her health complications.

Robert joins his wife’s lawsuit as a co-litigant for his loss of companionship stemming from Lenora’s illness. The couple also alleges that they are facing medical bills which have added undue stress to their relationship.

Lenora and Robert are bringing several causes of action against the defendants which include negligence, strict liability—design and manufacturing defect, breach of express warranty, strict liability—failure to warn, and breach of implied warranty.

They seek a compensatory award that includes all court and attorney fees as well as hope for the assessment of punitive damages.

Shingrix vs. Zostavax

Lenora and Robert’s lawsuit says that Zostavax is a stronger version of another vaccine used to prevent chicken pox. Both chicken pox and shingles are caused from the same virus known as varicella zoster.

Shingles is a reactivated version of the dormant virus in the nervous system which happens when the body is under undo stress, experiencing other disease states, or as part of the aging process. Vaccination with a live virus can also bring it on by affecting the immune system.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Shingrix—an alternative shingles prevention vaccine—is the preferred method of prophylactic shingles care for older adults over 60 years of age.

Shingrix was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016 and inoculation is recommended to be given in two doses with a space of several weeks or months in between.

The CDC says Shingrix has demonstrated efficacy in preventing shingles of adults over 60 at 90 percent versus Zostavax—FDA approved in May 2006—which prevents it at around 50 percent.

The two vaccines are different, according to the article, because Zostavax is contains the live attenuated virus whereas Shingrix is antigen-based.

The Zostavax Lawsuit is Case No. 2:19-cv-00180-HB in the U.S. District Court for the District of Pennsylvania.