RZV Vaccine for Shingles Has Lower Adverse Event Rates, VAERS Data Show

A new analysis of two decades' worth of data shows that the recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) for shingles is not only more effective than the live-attenuated zoster vaccine (ZVL), but also has lower rates of adverse events following immunization.

The report, which was published in the journal Vaccine , is based on data from the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which is co-managed by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The data date back to May 2006, when the FDA approved Zostavax, Merck's live-attenuated shingles vaccine (ZVL), which is sold under the brand name Zostavax. A decade later, in October 2017, the FDA gave the go-ahead to Shingrix, an adjuvanted recombinant vaccine (RZV) developed by GlaxoSmithKline. The latter approval caused