Experts Debunk COVID-19 Vaccine-Shingles Link

Feb. 9, 2021 — The Reddit message board user was looking for others in similar misery to share their stories. The 27-year-old had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Two-and-a-half weeks later, the user developed shingles. “Anybody else have a similar experience?” the post asked. “My doctor said there are anecdotes out there similar to mine.”

At least one respondent commented that it was ”probably not a coincidence. I think it’s entirely possible to awaken a shingles case after a vaccine.”

Infectious disease specialists, however, disagree that this is cause and effect, but interest in the possible connection remains high. According to Google Trends, searches for the term “covid shingles” hit peak popularity on the search engine over the past week

“There is no scientific evidence of this [association],” says Aaron Glatt, MD, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, NY, and a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful viral infection that people who have had chickenpox can get when the virus is reactivated. The shingles vaccine, Shingrix, is recommended for people ages 50 and up to prevent the condition.

William Schaffner, MD, professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and also a spokesperson for the IDSA, agrees there is no evidence of a link to the COVID-19 vaccine. “Other than the people who had serious prior allergic reactions, to date no other incidents of other medical events that exceed the normal background rate of those events in the community have been found,” says Schaffner, citing CDC data.

Cases of shingles appearing are not surprising, both doctors also agree, but there’s no evidence they are linked to the COVID-19 vaccine. “Things happen, particularly with older adults,” Schaffner says. “We have to identify medical events that might be causal from coincidence. So far we don’t have any other events other than allergic reactions [linked to the vaccine].”

“Almost certainly, those who get shingles did not get Shingrix vaccinated,” Glatt adds.

“Almost 1 out of 3 people in the United States will develop shingles in their lifetime,” Glatt says. It doesn’t surprise him that shingles cases are appearing, since many of the millions of Americans who have gotten their COVID-19 vaccine are older and your risk of getting shingles increases with age.