New, more effective vaccine to prevent shingles, reveals systematic review

A systematic review of clinical studies involving more than two million patients aged 50 years and older suggests that a recently published shingles vaccine was much more effective at preventing pain than the older vaccine, but that it was more effective. it also entailed a higher risk of side effects.

The research was published Thursday by Bmj.

The recombinant adjuvant subunit vaccine – sold under the brand name Shingrix – has proven to be 85% more effective in reducing shingles, also called herpes zoster, compared to Zostavax, a live attenuated vaccine against shingles , available for treatment. in Canada since 2006.

The use of Shingrix resulted in 30% more adverse events at the injection site, such as redness or swelling. No statistically significant difference was identified between the two vaccines for serious adverse events and deaths.

"There have been no comparative studies comparing shingles vaccines, so policymakers, clinicians, and patients can use the results of our systematic review to make a decision regarding the treatment of shingles." use of these vaccines, "said Andrea Tricco, researcher at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital and Associate Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health of the 39, University of Toronto.

"If you have to choose between two vaccines and you have evidence that one of the vaccines is a little more effective, or a little safer than the other, then you may be more willing to take the the safest and most effective vaccine. "

Shingles is a viral infection that occurs during the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus, which is responsible for chickenpox.

About one in four people will develop shingles in their lifetime and about two-thirds will have shingles after the age of 50.