Herpes Zoster Vaccine

Efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of herpes zoster vaccines in individuals aged 50 years of age and older: a systematic review

Tricco AC, Zarin W, Cardoso R, Veroniki AA, Khan PA, Nincic V, Ghassemi M, Warren R, Sharpe JP, Page AV, Straus SE. Efficacy, effectiveness and safety of herpes zoster vaccines in adults aged 50 and older: systematic review and network meta-analysis. BMJ. 2018;363:k4029. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.k4029

Almetric:

Bottom Line:

• Two vaccines against herpes zoster (shingles) are available: a live attenuated vaccine and an adjuvant recombinant subunit vaccine
• The adjuvant recombinant subunit vaccine might prevent more cases of herpes zoster than the live attenuated vaccine
• Compared with the live attenuated vaccine, however, the recombinant subunit vaccine might carry a greater risk of adverse events at injection sites

Impact:

• No trials have directly compared the safety and effectiveness of the live attenuated vaccine and the adjuvant recombinant subunit vaccine
• The statistical methods used to indirectly compare the two vaccines in this study addresses an important evidence gap
• This will allow clinicians and policy-makers to make decisions on the use of these vaccines

Protocol:

• PROSPERO registration
• Protocol brief

Additional Resources:

• Research brief
• Full publication
• Visual abstract

Funding:

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) through the Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (DSEN)