Reply #167: The vaccine contains live virus.

[girl gone mad]

There is no evidence showing the rate of shingles to be any lower (or higher) in individuals who are given the chicken pox vaccine. There was one study showing a slightly reduced rate of shingles in immunocompromised children over the short term (less than 2 years from vaccination). There is also a vaccine available specifically for shingles. It is a much stronger version of the chicken pox vaccine and is said to reduce the rate of shingles by about half. Continued exposure to children with chicken pox is also known to reduce the rate of shingles in older populations.

My brother in law was vaccinated against chicken pox as a child, but developed a bad case of shingles on his face and in his eye last year.