New Shingles Vaccine More Effective At Preventing Debilitating Rashes And Nerve Pain

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that all adults over the age of 50 get the new shingles vaccine, Shingrix. Every adult who has had chickenpox is at risk for shingles, which presents with painful sores and rashes, and can also include debilitating nerve pain called postherpetic neuralgia, or PHN. That pain, for which there is no effective treatment, can last for months or years.

The new vaccine is 90 percent effective for patients of all ages; the older one, Zostavax, was only 38 percent effective for adults over 70. Here & Now's Robin Young discusses with Dr. Alex Viehman (@Viehmanator), infectious disease specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.