Diseases & Conditions
Should I get the shingles vaccine?
Ask the doctor
I'm 55, and a friend my age just got the shingles vaccine and urged me to follow suit. But I heard the shots' side effects can include days of severe arm pain. Is it really worth it?Called Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine), the shots are highly effective against shingles, a reawakening of the chickenpox (or varicella-zoster) virus that stays dormant in nerve endings. Shingles often causes an extremely painful skin rash, and it can also trigger a complication called postherpetic neuralgia. This involves excruciating nerve pain that can last for months or years after shingles blisters vanish.
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About the Author
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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