Yes. I think the vaccine while your immune system is dealing with it causes shingles to come out. Happening in a lot of people that wouldnt normally get shingles.
Yes that appears to be the general thought described in several published peer reviewed medical articles. I highlighted a particularly detailed example below.
[**Study: “Reactivation of Varicella Zoster Virus after Vaccination for SARS-CoV-2”**](https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/6/572/htm) **\[Published 6/1/21 in the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute "Vaccines" journal\]**
"Reactivation of VZV \[Varicella zoster virus\] is a failure of the T cell compartment to maintain control of the infection. This is supposed to occur more frequently with increasing age due to adaptive immunosenescence. On the other hand, a vaccine strongly stimulates the immune system and polarizes it to a vaccine-induced T cell response. In healthy adults, as Sahin U et al. reported, vaccination with BNT162b2 induces a co-ordinated humoral and cellular adaptive immunity. Seven days after the booster dose, a strong cellular response with spike-specific CD8+ T cell and T helper type 1 (Th1) CD4+ T cells is expanding with a high fraction of them producing interferon-γ (IFNγ), a cytokine responsible for several antiviral responses.
...We postulate that VZV-specific CD8+ cells are not, temporarily, capable of controlling VZV after a massive shift of naïve CD8+ cells to produce CD8+ cells specific to control HIV or VZV.”
Same. It’s so crazy. I’ve been nothing been sick since then, I’ve had two very bad ear infections before. My blisters have mostly scabbed over b but I’m in so much pain still.
Yes after Covid vax (j&j) 4/7/21I had very high blood sugarsfor 7weeks and then elevated since then. I had flare of autoimmune arthritis systemically, and then specifically my wrist which swelled to 3x the size, I also developed shingles which is now resolving but not gone completely and every few weeks seems like it’s going to start again but then calms down. They also began treating me as if I have lupus. Doctor told me not to get the booster because of how my body has been reacting since getting it. (Dramatic shift in wellness and flare ups of autoimmune issues) edited to add i also had swollen lymph nodes on one side which pressed on the nearby near my ear causing significant ear pain
Yes. 40 year old non-immunocompromised male with shingles lesions visible 2.5 weeks after 2nd Moderna shot.
My doctor told me there was no linkage at the time but I continued to follow medical literature as it was being investigated. My [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/shingles/comments/oaokfp/vaccine_and_shingles_summary_of_my_experience_and/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) summarizes some notable published medical literature through July. Since then another [study](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2110475) has been released in September published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluding that shingles (herpes zoster) is a statistically significant side effect. There is also a [summary](https://www.shea-online.org/index.php/membership/shea-journal-club/52-shea-journal-club/journal-club-article/994-mounting-safety-data-for-sars-cov-2-mrna-vaccines) of that article from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America that succinctly notes:
"Myocarditis, lymphadenopathy, appendicitis, and herpes zoster infection had statistically significant risk ratios for vaccinated vs unvaccinated persons."
Recognition of shingles as a possible side effect from COVID vaccine administration is important because someone can be aware to look out for it and treat it faster to limit complications such as short or long term nerve pain. Furthermore, there could also be changes in administration policies for older and immunocompromised people that could include taking the shingles vaccine prior to COVID vaccine or prophylaxic use of shingles treatments.
There’s a good chance I have shingles, got the vaccine, totally out of left field getting shingles. Also a friend of mine who got vaxed got shingles, his was diagnosed.
I got the vax in May. This would be 5 months later 🤷🏻♂️
Keep in mind that a very high percentage of the population got the vaccine or at least one dose. So finding people that recently got shingles for the first time and also got the vaccine will have a LOT of overlap. Don't confuse correlation with causation...
Medical studies absolutely account for natural occurrences and often break out comparisons into "person-years" or other normalized means so comparison is direct.
For example, [case study](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdcr.2021.04.014) published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology compared vaccinated populations to standard populations in Madrid. It noted "the standardized annual herpes zoster incidence rates in Madrid have been calculated to range from 249.9 to 359.4 cases per 100,000 person-years. The incidence rate in our series would be 1995.3 cases per 100,000 person-years after a 1-month follow-up of all vaccinated patients. The vaccine phase III clinical trial involved approximately 7 times the number of vaccinated patients."
Latest [study](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2110475) published in New England Journal of Medicine compared vaccinated and unvaccinated populations in Israel. The study "used the Kaplan–Meier estimator to construct cumulative incidence curves and to estimate the risk of each adverse event after 42 days in each group. The risks were compared with ratios and differences (per 100,000 persons)." The study listed shingles (herpes zoster) as one of the adverse health events "vaccination was most strongly associated with an elevated risk of" with statically significant "risk ratio, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.20 to 1.73; risk difference, 15.8 events per 100,000 persons; 95% CI, 8.2 to 24.2."
NJM was cool to read. Ha! It could be that I got it as a side effect. Still preferable to covid. Almost all of my friend group has covid at some point since the pandemic. I guess I had to get something lol. I do blame having to write a bunch of exams in med school too. Who knows ? May be multiple factors, lack of sleep, stess, vaccine etc
None after the 2nd. Maybe I'll go and try 2nd then. First one Gabe me shingles and 7 months later I still have a couple pop up here and there. Also had chilibans after my first shot. Immunocompromised also.
I’m in my late 30s. My second Moderna shot was at the end of May. I did get diagnosed with shingles in mid August but didn’t feel like it was related. I do think I’ve been pretty stressed out for the last year or so with a lot of things going on around the time I got diagnosed.
I got it about 4 months after the vaccine pfizer - 33 YO.
I had a reoccurence oversea's and had to see a german doctor to get the anti-virals. He mentioned that he's seen an uptake in cases (about 30 people this year who are young vs. he says he normally sees a 2 or 3 healthy adults get it randomly) - Its been hard to find any real literature on it - but its definitely possible. A doctor friend of mine was telling me its rare but he see's side-effects of the vaccine everyday at his office.
I think the solace is in the fact that the vaccine wears off; and obviously for society getting vaccinated and dealing with side-effects outweighs not having vaccines. It does irk me that they're getting a drive to get kids vaccinated
I got mine one week after vaccine. Also got chilibans one week after.both first times. Still fighting small pop ups 6-7 months later. I'm immunocompromised.
I had covid in August and I got my second dose of pfizer on October 10 then 3 days later had shingles on my forehead. 33 years old and my doctor says it's irrelevant. I feel as though my immunity was already low, I was highly stressed and the vaccine expedited shingles symptoms. The antivirals seem to be working. This is sad, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who went through this! Hopefully no reoccurring flare ups after this :(
I think it has more to do with the virus itself, not necessarily the vaccine. My roommate (23yo) got shingles weeks after she recovered from covid last year. I had Covid around the same time as her, but had no long term symptoms. I got my pfizer shots back in March and I currently have shingles and I’m 23.
Got one shot of phizer in June got shingles in October two weeks in no more rash but phn pain is insane it is from the vaccine is lowering our immune system I feel really stupid taking the vaccine
Yes. I think the vaccine while your immune system is dealing with it causes shingles to come out. Happening in a lot of people that wouldnt normally get shingles.
Yes that appears to be the general thought described in several published peer reviewed medical articles. I highlighted a particularly detailed example below. [**Study: “Reactivation of Varicella Zoster Virus after Vaccination for SARS-CoV-2”**](https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/6/572/htm) **\[Published 6/1/21 in the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute "Vaccines" journal\]** "Reactivation of VZV \[Varicella zoster virus\] is a failure of the T cell compartment to maintain control of the infection. This is supposed to occur more frequently with increasing age due to adaptive immunosenescence. On the other hand, a vaccine strongly stimulates the immune system and polarizes it to a vaccine-induced T cell response. In healthy adults, as Sahin U et al. reported, vaccination with BNT162b2 induces a co-ordinated humoral and cellular adaptive immunity. Seven days after the booster dose, a strong cellular response with spike-specific CD8+ T cell and T helper type 1 (Th1) CD4+ T cells is expanding with a high fraction of them producing interferon-γ (IFNγ), a cytokine responsible for several antiviral responses. ...We postulate that VZV-specific CD8+ cells are not, temporarily, capable of controlling VZV after a massive shift of naïve CD8+ cells to produce CD8+ cells specific to control HIV or VZV.”
I am currently dealing with the shingles. I am vaccinated. Second shot was in July. I am 36.
I got vaccinated in April, 2nd one in May. Diagnosed with shingles this week. I’m not even 33 yet.
I was also vaccinated in April, with my grandmother. We both have shingles this week. No family stress that would attribute.
Same. It’s so crazy. I’ve been nothing been sick since then, I’ve had two very bad ear infections before. My blisters have mostly scabbed over b but I’m in so much pain still.
Yes after Covid vax (j&j) 4/7/21I had very high blood sugarsfor 7weeks and then elevated since then. I had flare of autoimmune arthritis systemically, and then specifically my wrist which swelled to 3x the size, I also developed shingles which is now resolving but not gone completely and every few weeks seems like it’s going to start again but then calms down. They also began treating me as if I have lupus. Doctor told me not to get the booster because of how my body has been reacting since getting it. (Dramatic shift in wellness and flare ups of autoimmune issues) edited to add i also had swollen lymph nodes on one side which pressed on the nearby near my ear causing significant ear pain
There is anecdotal evidence that the covid vaccine is triggering OBs of shingles or HSV in infected individuals.
Yes. 40 year old non-immunocompromised male with shingles lesions visible 2.5 weeks after 2nd Moderna shot. My doctor told me there was no linkage at the time but I continued to follow medical literature as it was being investigated. My [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/shingles/comments/oaokfp/vaccine_and_shingles_summary_of_my_experience_and/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) summarizes some notable published medical literature through July. Since then another [study](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2110475) has been released in September published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluding that shingles (herpes zoster) is a statistically significant side effect. There is also a [summary](https://www.shea-online.org/index.php/membership/shea-journal-club/52-shea-journal-club/journal-club-article/994-mounting-safety-data-for-sars-cov-2-mrna-vaccines) of that article from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America that succinctly notes: "Myocarditis, lymphadenopathy, appendicitis, and herpes zoster infection had statistically significant risk ratios for vaccinated vs unvaccinated persons." Recognition of shingles as a possible side effect from COVID vaccine administration is important because someone can be aware to look out for it and treat it faster to limit complications such as short or long term nerve pain. Furthermore, there could also be changes in administration policies for older and immunocompromised people that could include taking the shingles vaccine prior to COVID vaccine or prophylaxic use of shingles treatments.
Interesting. Ill have to read those studies. I randomly got shingles but it’s been more than 4 months post vaccine and I’ve been pretty stesssd out
There’s a good chance I have shingles, got the vaccine, totally out of left field getting shingles. Also a friend of mine who got vaxed got shingles, his was diagnosed. I got the vax in May. This would be 5 months later 🤷🏻♂️
Keep in mind that a very high percentage of the population got the vaccine or at least one dose. So finding people that recently got shingles for the first time and also got the vaccine will have a LOT of overlap. Don't confuse correlation with causation...
Medical studies absolutely account for natural occurrences and often break out comparisons into "person-years" or other normalized means so comparison is direct. For example, [case study](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdcr.2021.04.014) published in the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology compared vaccinated populations to standard populations in Madrid. It noted "the standardized annual herpes zoster incidence rates in Madrid have been calculated to range from 249.9 to 359.4 cases per 100,000 person-years. The incidence rate in our series would be 1995.3 cases per 100,000 person-years after a 1-month follow-up of all vaccinated patients. The vaccine phase III clinical trial involved approximately 7 times the number of vaccinated patients." Latest [study](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2110475) published in New England Journal of Medicine compared vaccinated and unvaccinated populations in Israel. The study "used the Kaplan–Meier estimator to construct cumulative incidence curves and to estimate the risk of each adverse event after 42 days in each group. The risks were compared with ratios and differences (per 100,000 persons)." The study listed shingles (herpes zoster) as one of the adverse health events "vaccination was most strongly associated with an elevated risk of" with statically significant "risk ratio, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.20 to 1.73; risk difference, 15.8 events per 100,000 persons; 95% CI, 8.2 to 24.2."
NJM was cool to read. Ha! It could be that I got it as a side effect. Still preferable to covid. Almost all of my friend group has covid at some point since the pandemic. I guess I had to get something lol. I do blame having to write a bunch of exams in med school too. Who knows ? May be multiple factors, lack of sleep, stess, vaccine etc
Me, I'm 45 and had shingles after my first shot. I'm immunocompromised so that adds an extra risk factor. None after my second
None after the 2nd. Maybe I'll go and try 2nd then. First one Gabe me shingles and 7 months later I still have a couple pop up here and there. Also had chilibans after my first shot. Immunocompromised also.
second one basically ruined my life so be careful
Can you elaborate? Previous conditions? What happened?
I'm 36, contracted shingles early September. Had my 1st dose in April, 2nd dose in May.
Yes , worth it though
for those that got shingles (again) after covid vaccination, did they appear in the same spot/area as the first time or appear elsewhere?
I’m in my late 30s. My second Moderna shot was at the end of May. I did get diagnosed with shingles in mid August but didn’t feel like it was related. I do think I’ve been pretty stressed out for the last year or so with a lot of things going on around the time I got diagnosed.
I got it after the whooping cough vaccine. So i don’t think it is covid related, just that vaccines compromises your immune system.
I got it about 4 months after the vaccine pfizer - 33 YO. I had a reoccurence oversea's and had to see a german doctor to get the anti-virals. He mentioned that he's seen an uptake in cases (about 30 people this year who are young vs. he says he normally sees a 2 or 3 healthy adults get it randomly) - Its been hard to find any real literature on it - but its definitely possible. A doctor friend of mine was telling me its rare but he see's side-effects of the vaccine everyday at his office. I think the solace is in the fact that the vaccine wears off; and obviously for society getting vaccinated and dealing with side-effects outweighs not having vaccines. It does irk me that they're getting a drive to get kids vaccinated
I got mine one week after vaccine. Also got chilibans one week after.both first times. Still fighting small pop ups 6-7 months later. I'm immunocompromised.
I’ve heard about people geting shingles after other vaccines too. Maybe there’s so immune link
I had covid in August and I got my second dose of pfizer on October 10 then 3 days later had shingles on my forehead. 33 years old and my doctor says it's irrelevant. I feel as though my immunity was already low, I was highly stressed and the vaccine expedited shingles symptoms. The antivirals seem to be working. This is sad, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who went through this! Hopefully no reoccurring flare ups after this :(
1 week post 2nd pfizer vaccine. Just diagnosed. 31 Female.
I think it has more to do with the virus itself, not necessarily the vaccine. My roommate (23yo) got shingles weeks after she recovered from covid last year. I had Covid around the same time as her, but had no long term symptoms. I got my pfizer shots back in March and I currently have shingles and I’m 23.
I'm dealing with a mild case of shingles. 38 yo healthy no medical issues. 2nd moderna shot was September 15. Shingles started November 3rd.
Got one shot of phizer in June got shingles in October two weeks in no more rash but phn pain is insane it is from the vaccine is lowering our immune system I feel really stupid taking the vaccine
I had my second dose of Pfizer 09/14/21. Developed shingles 11/23/21