United States: Medical studies show that getting the shingles vaccine protects individuals from developing both viral skin rash infections and heart disease.
Drop in Cardiovascular Events
The research published in the European Heart Journal showed that individuals who received the shot experienced a 23% decrease in cardiovascular events throughout an eight-year observation period.
The research team analyzed data from 1 million individuals aged 50 or older who provided information between 2012 and beyond.
This study uncovered a strong protective benefit that primarily affected male subjects, individuals younger than sixty, and those who either smoked or drank alcohol or led a sedentary lifestyle.
Shingles is associated with an increased chance of health problems like strokes and heart attacks, but receiving a shingles jab seems to curb the risk of such cardiovascular problems https://t.co/xA0w0mqiy0
— New Scientist (@newscientist) May 6, 2025
Dong Keon Yon explained in an official news release that, as the lead researcher from the Kyung Hee University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea, he identified multiple explanations for how shingles vaccination reduces heart disease incidence.
“A shingles infection can cause blood vessel damage, inflammation, and clot formation that can lead to heart disease. By preventing shingles, vaccination may lower these risks,” as the expert explained.
“Our study found stronger benefits in younger people, probably due to a better immune response, and in men, possibly due to differences in vaccine effectiveness,” he added.
The examined vaccine included live zoster particles that have been weakened into a form of the varicella-zoster virus, which produces shingles.
Some people need to avoid the live vaccine because of their immune system limitations, while other nations opt for recombinant non-live shingles vaccines instead.
The United States stands among nations that adopted Shingrix as its new vaccine in 2017.
Shingrix Emerges as Preferred Vaccine in US
GlaxoSmithKline produces the vaccine, which demonstrates greater than 90 percent effectiveness in preventing shingles infections.
GlaxoSmithKline’s Shingrix vaccine has taken over from the single-dose live Zostavax vaccine developed by Merck.
“Since the live zoster vaccine is not suitable for everyone, more research on the recombinant vaccine is needed” in order to confirm if there is a similar impact, according to Yon, while adding that the study also does not establish a direct causal relationship.