Can COVID-19 cause shingles?

Dear Savvy Senior: How effective is the shingles vaccine and what is the CDC recommendation for getting it? My older brother and sister, both in their 50s, got COVID a few months back followed by shingles. Do you know if there is a connection between these viruses and would the shingles vaccine have protected them? —

Scared of Shingles

Dear Scared: Many health care professionals across the country have been urging older patients to get the shingles vaccine — in addition to the COVID-19 vaccinations — during the pandemic because getting COVID-19 can increase your chances of developing shingles. The more severe case of COVID you get, the greater your risk for shingles.

The reason is because when you contract COVID-19 your immune system becomes compromised fighting off the virus, which gives shingles — a virus that already exists in your body if you’ve had chickenpox — a chance to reactivate.

Here’s what you should know about shingles, the shingles vaccine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.

What are shingles?

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a burning, blistering skin rash that impacts about 1 million Americans each year. The same virus that causes chickenpox causes shingles. The chickenpox virus most people get as kids never leaves the body. It hides in the nerve cells near the spinal cord and, for some people, emerges later in the form of shingles.

In the U.S., about one in three people will develop shingles during their lifetime. While anyone who’s had chickenpox can get shingles, it most commonly occurs in people over age 50, along with people who have weakened immune systems. You can’t catch shingles from someone else.

Early signs of the disease include pain, itching or tingling before a blistering rash appears several days later. The rash, which can last up to four weeks, typically occurs on one side of the body, often as a band of blisters that extends from the middle of your back around to the breastbone. It can also appear above an eye or on the side of the face or neck.

In addition to the rash, about 20 to 25 percent of those who get shingles go on to develop severe nerve pain (postherpetic neuralgia) that can last for months or years. In rare cases, shingles can cause strokes, encephalitis, spinal cord damage and vision loss.

Shingles vaccine

The vaccine for shingles called Shingrix (see Shingrix.com) provides much better protection than the old shingles vaccine Zostavax.

Manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, Shingrix is 97 percent effective in preventing shingles in people 50 to 69 years old and 91 percent effective in those 70 and older.

Shingrix also does a terrific job — about 90 percent effective — preventing nerve pain that continues after a shingles rash has cleared.

Shingrix can cause adverse side effects for some people, including muscle pain, fatigue, headache, fever and upset stomach. Shingrix, which averages around $205 for both doses, is covered by most private health insurance plans, including Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, but there may be a cost to you depending on your plan. Contact your insurer to find out.