Tom Nolan’s research reviews—18 January 2024

Real world zoster vaccine effectivenessIn September, the UK started phasing out use of the live herpes zoster vaccine (Zostavax) to replace it with the recombinant vaccine Shingrix. Vaccination is also gradually being offered to younger people, eventually from the age of 60 years. A phase 3 randomised controlled trial of Shingrix had previously found an efficacy of 97% in adults aged 50 years and above, and a longer duration of protection than from the live vaccine, meaning it could be offered from a younger age. A new observational study of over two million people aged over 50 who have had the recombinant vaccine used diagnostic codes and antiviral prescriptions as a measure of shingles incidence. The results confirm the vaccine is effective—but with lower estimates than in the randomised trial: vaccine effectiveness was 79% a year after vaccination, dropping to 73% after three years.Ann Intern Med doi:10.7326/M23-2023Shared decision making after…
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