Vaccination for quality of life: herpes-zoster vaccines

Current vaccination policy in most high-income countries aims to counteract the decline in cell-mediated immunity to varicella zoster virus that occurs with advancing age or immunosuppression. The aim of this review was to describe the burden of illness associated with herpes zoster (HZ) and post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) risks and their impact on the social and common life in infected people. The effectiveness/efficacy and cost effectiveness of the immunization strategy will be presented through the review of the literature relevant to the live attenuated HZ vaccine (ZLV) licensed in 2006 and the recombinant HZ vaccine (RZV). The latter has very recently been approved to protect aged people aged >= 50 years against HZ morbidity including its complications, and associated health-care costs. Finally, this review also provides data with respect of precautions of using and safety of ZVL and RVZ.

Automated summary

Current vaccination policy in high-income countries is aimed at countering the decline in cell-mediated immunity to varicella zoster virus. This review discusses the effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and precautions of using the live attenuated HZ vaccine and the recently approved recombinant HZ vaccine especially for older adults.