What you need to know about studies linking the Covid-19 vaccine to shingles

A new study aims to find a link between receptions mRNA vaccine For covid-19 and herpes zoster (also known as herpes zoster) For certain people In an autoimmune state.But while links may be worth exploring, the average person shouldn’t be worried about this possible risk Or pay a lot of attention to misleading news articles that cover the study..

Research Release Last week in the journal Rheumatoid Arthritis by Israeli scientists. They studied people with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases, conditions including rheumatoid arthritis. Compared them with a group of similar people who did not have an autoimmune disease.. From approximately 500 patients with these conditions, 6 (1.2%) who developed shingles immediately after receiving the Pfizer / BioNTech covid-19 vaccine were identified, compared with 0 in the control group. Everyone was shot.

The authors show that more research is needed to “clarify” the association between Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine and herpes zoster. Varicella-zoster virus.Importantly, this does not mean a vaccine Gave them shingles Virus.

Leading author Victoria Fuller is careful Jerusalem Post on On Monday, it was not possible to say “vaccine caused” in these cases at this time. At best, vaccination “may trigger for some patients,” she added.But it didn’t stop the New York Post from spinning the results with the most clickbait In the way possible Heading Today: “The study states that herpes infections are probably associated with the covid-19 vaccine.”

The above is technically correct. Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, a member of the herpesvirus family called varicella-zoster. But when people see the word “herpes infection”,Almost You’re definitely talking about genital herpes, a sexually transmitted disease caused by two other herpesviruses.Jerusalem Post, for that Partially made It’s clear that the study is about shingles, but people Perhaps more commonly recognized as shingles.

Simply calling shingles a herpes infection can be misleading in another sense.Because it’s not a new infection Rather, following the first case of chickenpox, the reactivation of the virus that had been latent in the body for years to decades. This often happens because the immune system weakens with age, Occur At a young age of people with autoimmune diseases. When shingles reappears, it causes a peculiar rash, sometimes intolerable nerve pain, which can be prolonged even after the infection has been defeated again.Fortunately, they vaccination The risk of shingles seems to be much lower for chickenpox, and now there is a vaccine Available Especially for shingles..

On the surface, it is not unbelievable that covid-19 vaccination may increase the risk of shingles reactivation. There is some evidence that covid-19 itself can be done trigger Due to shingles, effects on the immune system or the stress it causes to people.And at least some scientists Dating back to the late 1990s Have got worry Immune response caused by the vaccine May temporarily make people more vulnerable to shingles..All of these theoretical risks can be amplified in people whose immune system is already impaired Or those who are taking medication to weaken the overactive immune system, as some patients in this study did.

At least one other Case report Some doctor’s anecdotes also suggest a link between the covid-19 vaccine and herpes zoster.But of course other experts Note What we simply don’t have At this point, strong evidence of a direct causal relationship between the two. EEven this new Studies show that the association seems overwhelmingly unclear, given that only 1.2% of autoimmune patients developed shingles after vaccination.On the other hand, not so far Signs of an increased risk of shingles after vaccination in the general public.

Yes, scientists need to continue studying this relationship, but it is unlikely to be more than a very rare risk among some people who are already vulnerable to shingles. And no, the covid-19 vaccine is not going to give you herpes.