Shingles after the Pfizer vaccine?

[jewels6075]

Has anyone developed shingles after getting the Covid 19 vaccine? I had the Pfizer shot in March and I came down with shingles in September. I started researching and there are some studies showing that shingles could be a side effect. Just curious if anyone else has had shingles in the last 6 months after getting the vaccine.

[bennevisplace]

Chances are it's just a reflection of your suppressed immune system. Shingles affects a lot of CLL patients.

[AnneHill]

I havent had shingles but it can be really painful. It was several months after the vaccine and I imagine it was a coincidence.Shingles can be triggered by stress and we have certainly had plenty of that. My consultant prescribed aciclovir anti viral drug to hopefully prevent shingles.

I will be having the pfizer vaccine soon and havent heard of that as a side effect.

I hope it has cleared up and you havent got long term pain, Anne uk

[Hidden]

I have had three Pfizer jabs, no shingles.

[spud2212]

Yes I had my second jab in April then a bout of shingles in September but that's just an issue with the state with our compromised immune system I reckon..

[marcyh]

This wasn't shingles, but similar. Someone I know developed a zoster-type blister-rash three months after his second Pfizer. Doctors couldn't identify it. It spread randomly on one side of his body, no pattern, no itchiness or pain. It spread so rapidly that after two days he went back to his doctor who put him on valacyclovir. That stopped the spread. He's never had chicken pox but now these look like scabbed pox. Before the blisters appeared he complained of random sore spots and some loss of feeling in that leg. He has finished the medication but that has stayed the same. He now has an ear infection on that side.

[Hazel33]

I had my second Pfizer in April. I got shingles at the end of July across one side of my body. It was so painful and I felt very ill and it took 7 weeks before I started to feel better. When the normal meds didn’t work for me the gp decided it was also a secondary problem reacting to shingles (probably the CLL) and I was given antibiotics. I was extremely stressed at the time but your theory that it could be a side affect of Pfizer is interesting.

[Palmetto]

I got shingles about six weeks after my second Pfizer vaccine and I'm not the one with the CLL. I did a lot of research after and there were a lot of young people in their 30s and 20s that got shingles after the vaccine so I do believe it's a side effect and even my doctor said it is possible due to the immune response,

[AnneHill in reply to Palmetto]

It is making me wonder if that is why my consultant insisted on me taking aciclovir. She said I wasnt protected from shingles and this would protect me better than the Shingrix vaccine. Anne uk

[SofiaDeo in reply to Palmetto]

Do you have any study links? This is interesting, I would enjoy looking at the data.

[hasta]

I hope you have had your Shingrix shot

[jimdel13]

I got shingles pain in the exact place where I had shingles several years ago; but no rash. Pain was so bad, I couldn't sleep and stress increase sent me to the emergency room. Had a CT scan and got some pain pills... white count spike. Once able to sleep, I was able to manage the pain that lasted a couple of weeks; similar to when I had the first bout of shingles. I passed on the shingrex back then when I read that it was only 5% likely that I would have another attack.... Now considering it.

[Hazel33 in reply to jimdel13]

After having a severe attack of shingles (first time) I have had the first shot of Shingrix. I would have anything to prevent it happening again, whether it works or not. Plus I’ve had my 3rd Pfizer (and flu vaccine). 😕

[SofiaDeo]

Do you have a reference link for these studies? I would be interested in looking at them, at the data. It would seem more likely that an "adverse reaction" would occur sooner, but it is also possible for some reactions to occur only after longer time has passed.

I have had herpes virus infections since a small child, around my mouth. I could prodrome/break out even with small things like too much sun exposure. And I doubt it was due to "immune suppression" starting in childhood, since I never had measles, mumps, or chicken pox even when my cousins did (we spent a lot of time together). I DID get chicken pox as an adult. And I got horrible shingles after my CLL diagnosis. Oddly, repeat shingles infections were less painful. So stress can indeed cause it, and being vaccinated/dealing with Covid might contribute. But it likely would occur in less than 6 months.

[Palmetto in reply to SofiaDeo]

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/345... is one but I also was on a forum on Reddit when I researched my outbreak which was mild and mainly in the area of upper left back and under left breast which is even outlined in this report. At the urgent care center where I went I told them I thought it was shingles and I had had the vaccine a month prior and they said it was likely a stress reaction to the vaccine. I actually posted on Healthunlocked about it and quite a few people here had the same reaction so I do think it is more common than most people think and probably never reported to VAERS. I know for example where I was checked at a Baptist Urgent Care Center although I reported a reaction, they never submitted anything and think that is all to common a fact. I did myself report it to VAERS and received back confirmation that they had received my data. I am sure there are more studies but again, most people probably don't think to relate it back to the vaccine.

[SeymourB in reply to Palmetto]

Palmetto -

Thanks for posting that paper.

=seymour=

[Eliotf]

I have been reading different things & that is common for us to get shingles. Do you take acyclovir? On a regular basis?

[Middlebay]

I too got shingles 6 weeks after my second Pfizer Covid booster. I have had shingles many times since I was treated with FCR in 2017 for Stage 4 SLL but nothing like this. And yes I do take prophylactic Valtrex and was vaccinated with Shingrex in 2018. I have always felt the shingles coming on and been able to get right on the high dose of Valtrex which would stop it in it's tracks. I have never before had post herpetic neuralgia until this time. This reactivation came on very strong with pain in my groin which I thought was a fracture. I was scheduled for radiographs and then 2 days later I got the rash. It was too late I started the high dose but the rash continued to spread and the pain was extremely bad almost to the point of passing out a few times. My CLL specialist at DFCI kept me on the high dose of valtrex for 3 months because every time I tried to lower it the rash came back. I now also have post herpetic neuralgia, an awful, rare, nerve inflammation, side effect of the original reactivation. I was sent to the infection disease dr. in the lymphoma dept. at DFCI and he kept me on the high dose valtrex for a total 5 months and gave me another round of 2 Shingrex boosters. His thinking was that my CD4 T cell count is higher now than before and it may work. The good news is that it has! I am on the lower prophylactic dose of valtrex now and no more rash! I still have nerve pain but I can live with that. I was afraid to get my 3rd dose of the Pfizer vaccine but he told me that shingles can be dealt with but Covid is too bad to fool with so I go next week to get that, 2 weeks after my second Shingrex. Like Dr Issa said this side effect can be dealt with and is not a reason to not get fully vaccinated for Covid which can kill us.

"There is evidence of an association between shingles reactivation and the Pfizer vaccine:

Vaccination was most strongly associated with an elevated risk of myocarditis (risk ratio, 3.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.55 to 12.44; risk difference, 2.7 events per 100,000 persons; 95% CI, 1.0 to 4.6), lymphadenopathy (risk ratio, 2.43; 95% CI, 2.05 to 2.78; risk difference, 78.4 events per 100,000 persons; 95% CI, 64.1 to 89.3), appendicitis (risk ratio, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.02 to 2.01; risk difference, 5.0 events per 100,000 persons; 95% CI, 0.3 to 9.9), and herpes zoster infection (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)."

nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/n...

[MaxSmart]

Last time I had the flu vaccine I got shingles a few days later

[SeymourB]

Above, Palmetto posted a link to this paper:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Varicella Zoster Virus Reactivation Following COVID-19 Vaccination: A Systematic Review of Case Reports

I note that the paper says:

"On average, symptoms developed 5.8 days post-vaccination irrespective of dose and treatment with oral valacyclovir as a monotherapy was employed in most patients (23/91)."

Table 1 shows mean onset in days. One study's mean was was as high as 9 days.

I read each of the papers cited, and the maximum onset of shingles was 21 days post-vaccination.

So I think the theory is that the vaccine may cause some suppression in B or T-cell response for a few weeks after the shot. Shingles onset months later is unlikely to be caused by the vaccine, as there are so many other things that happen to a person over that long of a time that could suppress immunity.

I personally find that I have had increased stress during the pandemic. I got shingles 15 years ago, before my CLL dx, in the spring after hurricane Katrina, when things were still very stressful. I was prescribed valacyclovir, and when that ran out, acyclovir, which was much cheaper at the time. Stress continues to be researched in association with shingles. This recent paper has a long list of prior studie:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Perceived psychological stress and risk of herpes zoster: a nationwide population‐based cohort study

I continue to take 400mg acyclovir twice a day as prophylaxis against a second shingles breakout. I occasionaly get mild post herpetic neuralgia, for which I take acetaminophen (paracetamol/Tylenol).

NOTE: THE COMMENTS BELOW ARE SPECULATIVE:

I recently discovered that the keratitis in my cornea that I got from my shingles breakout may have been more likely due to an inherited allele in the TLR4 (Toll Like Receptor 4) innate immune system gene.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/snp/rs4986...

199 citations for rs4986791

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/327...

Toll-like receptor gene polymorphisms in patients with keratitis

"145 cases of keratitis and 189 matched controls were recruited. ...

For all cases of keratitis, the TLR4 SNP rs4986791 TC genotype frequency was significantly higher in cases (p = 0.006, OR = 1.96, 95 % CI 1.19-3.2)"

OR (overall risk) was almost 2.

That SNP was reported in my 23andMe results. It's certainly not the only factor. I was the only sibling of 5 to get chicken pox twice as a child, and got shingles at the comparatively young age of 51.

I would be interested in hearing from others who explore SNP-based analysis from consumer DNA testing. Please IM me if you are interested.

=seymour=

[Emerfly]

I am on prophylactic anti virals for Shingles & Herpes was plagued with both . No issues since. Have had 2xPfizers shots & hoping to get my 3rd soon. Shingles are very painful & highly contagious . Once you have the virus it lies dormant in your system & being run down/tired can activate it .

[Fiona2014]

2nd vaccine end of March-Shingles 6 weeks later. Postherpetic neuralgia until July (treated with gabapentin) Can't help but think a correlation is evident.