Shingles News

June 11, 2022 — Justin Bieber posted a video on his Instagram account revealing he is currently experiencing facial paralysis and has been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.

April 11, 2022 — Researchers found people 50 and older who had COVID were 15% more likely to develop shingles, compared to people who were never infected.

January 28, 2022 — Pfizer and BioNTech plan to develop a vaccine for shingles using the same mRNA technology that made the companies’ COVID-19 vaccine.

October 21, 2021 — A panel of CDC advisors has voted to recommend the shingles vaccine Shingrix for people with immune system deficiencies who are age 19 or or older.

February 12, 2020 — Overall stroke risk dropped 20% among patients under age 80 who got the shingles vaccine. In patients 80 and older, risk was cut by about 10%, said researchers.

November 13, 2019 — The new vaccine is more than 90% effective at preventing shingles and a painful complication called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) in all age groups.

June 10, 2019 — Kids who were vaccinated against chickenpox had a 78% lower risk of developing shingles, the researchers said.

January 10, 2019 — More doses of Shingrix, the shingles vaccine that has been in very short supply, are on the way to U.S. pharmacies, says drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline. However, demand may still outpace supply.

October 31, 2018 — For months, demand for Shingrix, the shingles vaccine approved by the FDA in October 2017, has outpaced supply, frustrating patients and providers alike.

September 4, 2018 — Over the last six decades, there has been a steady uptick in the number of shingles cases in the United States -- even among younger adults. What's behind it? Researchers have a few theories.

June 27, 2018 — Supplies of a new and more effective shingles vaccine are running low in the United States.

October 23, 2017 — New vaccine, said to be more effective, is second approved for U.S. market.

July 4, 2017 — More research is needed, but doctors should warn patients, researchers say

September 14, 2016 — Found to protect about 90 percent of adults age 70 and up

December 15, 2015 — Chance of stroke, heart attack increased most in the first week after diagnosis of the painful rash

June 4, 2015 — Findings support immunization of older adults

July 5, 2012 — The live-virus shingles vaccine may be safe for people with autoimmune conditions and for those taking immunity-suppressing drugs.

June 5, 2012 — A new study offers up some encouraging news for people who have recently experienced a painful bout of shingles.

June 1, 2012 — The FDA has approved a drug currently used for restless leg syndrome to treat a common and painful complication of shingles, according to the medication's manufacturers.

April 23, 2012 — The shingles vaccine is “generally safe and well tolerated,” according to a study of nearly 200,000 patients.

March 24, 2011 — The FDA today approved Merck's Zostavax shingles vaccine for 50-somethings. The vaccine was already approved for people age 60 and older.

January 10, 2011 — The herpes zoster vaccine, better known as the shingles vaccine and recommended for adults 60-plus, cuts the risk of getting the painful disease by 55%, new research finds.

November 17, 2009 — The FDA has approved Qutenza for post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), lingering nerve pain after a shingles attack. The doctor-applied patches deliver synthetic capsaicin, the chemical that makes chili peppers hot.

November 2, 2009 — People with shingles are more likely to suffer a recurrence than previously thought, especially if their attack is accompanied by lasting pain, researchers report.

October 8, 2009 — Adults with shingles are at increased risk for stroke, especially if they have shingles that affects the eyes, a study shows.

May 6, 2009 — A surgically implanted pump that delivers medication to the spinal fluid helps reduce the persistent pain that can linger in some patients after they recover from shingles, according to a new study.

May 16, 2008 — A new study shows that people with shingles, or herpes zoster infection, are more than four times likely to have a first-degree relative with a history of the condition.

May 15, 2008 — The CDC recommends that people aged 60 and older get a single dose of the shingles vaccine Zostavax.

January 10, 2008 — There are 1.1 million shingles patients in the U.S., and almost all of them seek shingles treatment each year, new government statistics show.

March 29, 2007 — Tai chi, a traditional Chinese martial art, may give older adults' immune system a boost.

October 25, 2006 — The CDC's vaccine advisory panel today voted to make shingles vaccination routine for all Americans 60 and older.

May 8, 2006 — It might be possible to use antiviral drugs to reduce shingles pain, researchers report.

January 19, 2006 — Getting a spinal (epidural) shot of steroids and anesthetics is "not effective" at preventing long-term shingles pain, according to a study.

December 15, 2005 — An FDA advisory panel backed the approval of the first shingles vaccine Thursday, though for a narrower group of patients than manufacturers had sought.

October 18, 2005 — Radiation therapy can help wipe out the blistery rash and potentially debilitating pain of shingles, the researcher of a new study suggests.

July 25, 2005 — A new study offers insights into what helps -- and what does not help -- relieve long-lasting shingles pain.

June 1, 2005 — A new shingles vaccine markedly reduces the suffering caused by one of the most feared diseases of old age, a large study shows.

October 6, 2004 — New guidelines for treating post-shingles pain call for four main medications to be used.

May 10, 2004 — A set of indicators may help doctors predict which people will suffer prolonged pain after a bout of shingles.

September 22, 2003 — Tai chi boosts shingles immunity in elderly people and adds to their general health, new research shows.

April 3, 2003 — A skin patch containing capsaicin can reduce the pain of postherpetic neuralgia for up to a month

October 8, 2002 — Morphine and other powerful, opiate-based pain medications may be a safe bet for treating shingles-related pain in elderly patients. A new study shows that the drugs can work just as well or even better than current therapies without dangerous side effects.

November 22, 2000 — Once the unsightly, red blisters of shingles go away, the agony of the herpes zoster infection has only just begun for those patients who develop the excruciating complication called postherpetic neuralgia.

November 27, 1999 — A new study may make the debilitating nerve and skin infection called shingles go the way of smallpox.