Can You Get Shingles Even If You Had The Chickenpox Vaccine

The cdc says that doctors need not ask patients if they ever had chickenpox or test for antibodies to it before giving them the shingles vaccine.

Can you get shingles even if you had the chickenpox vaccine.

After a person recovers from chickenpox the virus stays dormant inactive in the body. Even if they don t remember having had chickenpox they should still get the shingles vaccine it wouldn t give them chickenpox. That s because the chickenpox vaccine is a live virus vaccine. Although chickenpox vaccines do contain a weakened version of the live virus which can reactivate later in life and cause shingles this is very rare he said.

Chickenpox and shingles are related because they are caused by the same virus varicella zoster virus. You can get shingles if you have been vaccinated with the chickenpox vaccine even if you have never had a natural chickenpox infection though. Kids who were vaccinated against chickenpox had a 78 lower risk of developing shingles the researchers said. There s a new and improved shingles vaccine shingrix which is approved for people ages 50 and over even for those who received thefirst shingles vaccine zostavax.

It can reactivate years later and cause shingles.