Shingles vaccine beneficial for seniors.
The herpes zoster, or shingles, vaccine is effective in preventing the infection in people older than 60 regardless of age, race or presence of chronic diseases, according to a study in the Jan. 12 Journal of the American Medical Association.The study compared almost 76,000 adults ages 60 and older who had been vaccinated against shingles with almost 278,000 unvaccinated older adults. The number of herpes zoster cases among vaccinated people was 6.4 per 1,000 person years, compared to 13 per 1,000 person years among those who were unvaccinated.
"To date, herpes zoster vaccine uptake has been poor due to weaknesses in the adult vaccine infrastructure and also due to serious barriers to the vaccine among clinicians and patients," the study's authors wrote. "Solutions to these challenges need to be found so that individuals seeking to receive herpes zoster vaccine will be able to reduce their risk of experiencing this serious condition."
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| Title Annotation: | HEALTH FINDINGS: The latest public health studies and research |
|---|---|
| Author: | Currie, Donya |
| Publication: | The Nation's Health |
| Date: | Mar 1, 2011 |
| Words: | 157 |
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