Shingles vaccine recommended for elderly

ATLANTA, May 16 (UPI) -- People age 60 and older should be vaccinated against shingles, or herpes zoster, a painful condition, U.S. health officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta recommends a single dose of the zoster vaccine, Zostavax, for adults age 60 years of age and older even if they have had a prior episode of shingles.

The new full recommendation, published in CDC's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, replaces a provisional recommendation that the CDC made in 2006, after the vaccine was licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Overall, in those age 60 and above the vaccine reduced the occurrence of shingles by about 50 percent, however, for individuals ages 60 to 69 it reduced occurrence by 64 percent, the researchers said

The most common side effects in people who received Zostavax were redness, pain and tenderness, swelling at the site of injection, itching and headache.

Half of people living to age 85 have had or will get shingles, characterized by clusters of blisters, which develop on one side of the body in a band-like pattern and can cause severe pain that may last for weeks, months or years. Shingles is caused by the childhood disease chickenpox that becomes dormant within the nerves and can reactivate later in life.