Vaccine Halves Herpes Zoster Risk In Patients With Inflammatory Arthritis, Study Finds

Rheumatology Advisor (7/7, Khaja) reports a study found that “among patients with inflammatory arthritis, receipt of the Shingrix [zoster vaccine recombinant, adjuvanted] vaccine is associated with a 50% reduction in herpes zoster incidence, yet only about 1 in 5 patients initiated the vaccine series.” The study “included 132,672 patients (71.9% women) aged an average of 60.4 years. Rheumatoid arthritis was the predominant diagnosis (80.0%).” Researchers observed that “only 21.6% of patients received at least 1 dose of Shingrix, among whom 73.2% completed the 2-dose series; 83.8% of completers did so within the recommended 2- to 6-month interval. Herpes zoster occurred among 3.3% of the total cohort. Incidence rates were 14.76 per 1000 person-years (PYs) among unvaccinated patients compared with 7.41 per 1000 PYs among vaccinated individuals, yielding a crude vaccine effectiveness of 50%.” The study was published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.