The vaccine should reduce the risks of shingles, an illness that usually impacts 2 out of every 10 people, particularly the elderly. The shingles disease causes chronic pain.
Shingles is the same virus that causes chicken pox. The Zostavax vaccine is the similar to other vaccinations, as it is a live virus that boosts the immunities in order to avoid contracting the disease.
The symptoms of shingles are seen as a cluster of blisters, which according to the FDA news release "develop[s] on one side of the body and can cause severe pain that may last for weeks, months or years after the virus reappears."
Studies conducted prior to the approval of Zostavax indicated that the vaccine was successful in reducing an outbreak of shingles by approximately 50 percent in individuals who were 60 years or older. In the more specific age group of 60 to 69 years of age, the reduction of a shingles outbreak increased to 64 percent.
For those individuals who still broke out with the shingles disease after being vaccinated with Zostavax, the study found that the associated duration of pain from the disease was "slightly reduced."
