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“As soon as I was able I got the Shingrix vaccine and would recommend it for everyone.

Shingles is bad juju I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”

Concur. Similar experience and got the vaccine asap afterwards - had a persistent bothersome nodule (where the first symptoms occurred) on the back of my neck afterwards - finally had it removed - still itches now & then.

Same thing with pneumonia - get the shot if you’re a senior.

This covid vaccine I’m passing on for now altho the Novamax is looking like the one I will consider IF the prophylactic protocols I follow are ever proven to be lacking.

My curiosity was piqued by this Shingles story, and the evolving COVID19 shot narrative from "it'll stop you from getting the bug" to "stop you from dying from/getting hospitalized over the bug".

So, I reviewed the FDA's analysis of ZOSTAVAX and its effectiveness against contracting shingles over time for adults aged 50-59. The results were interesting, eye-opening, and comparatively fascinating. In short:

-the stated intent of this vaccine is "Prevention of herpes zoster (shingles) in individuals 50 years of age and older."
-over seven years, 3.59% of the 1.4MM people under the study got shingles, or 0.5% per annum.
-over a median follow-up period of 1.3 years, the incidence of contracting shingles was 70% lower for the vaccine group vs placebo.
-for the first three years after the vaccine (e.g. keeping the period of observation fixed), the vaccinated group's incidence of contracting shingles was 60% lower than the placebo, but
-the relative incidence fell to 39% in the third year.

Now...by contrast, the COVID19 shots had, at most, maybe 14 to (I think) 28 days of observation after the second shot. The quoted percentages of about 96% effectiveness were based in this very narrow window of observation.

Further, the effectiveness of the shingles shot was tracked over VERY long time frames, and notice the fall-off after the third year. BUT...also notice the relative lack of deterioration in effectiveness during the initial 3 year period. Parenthetically, all the data, tracking, quality-control, and recording was centralized and standardized by Merck; you can hate on Merck all you want, but contrast that set-up with the relative mayhem and anarchy around COVID19 cases, hospitalizations, and fatalitiess and breakthrough situations.

Finally, the shingles vaccine doesn't "prevent" shingles but lowers your chance of contracting shingles. Frankly, I don't think that distinction is made clear.

The decision to get a shingles vaccine is a personal one. I can argue pro and con based on the data I reviewed. But I am not concerned about the integrity or thoroughness of the underlying analysis. And, for what it's worth, a 60-70% effectiveness over more than 28 days is what I would EXPECT to be the case.

Getting excited about a 96% reduction in COVID19 incidence two weeks after the last shot is akin to cheering that Ozzy Osbourne stayed sober three hours after leaving rehab.

Nobody has the time, or patience to do this relative comparison, grunt work. Except the CDC and media. From them...crickets. Small wonder we are stuck at 56% vaccination levels.