Pharmacist prescribers Linda Bryant and Leanne Te Karu discuss positive polypharmacy for heart failure. Current evidence shows the intensive implementation of four medications offers the greatest benefit to most patients with heart failure, with significant reductions in cardiovascular mortality, heart failure hospitalisations and all-cause mortality
Shingles protection for adults with immunocompromise
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Practice + Vaccines
Shingles protection for adults with immunocompromise
Thursday 9 January 2025, 12:30 PM
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We are on our summer break and the editorial office is closed until 13 January. In the meantime, please enjoy our Summer Hiatus series, in which our journalists curate an eclectic mix from our news and clinical archives throughout the year, The Conversation and other publications we share content with. Please note the comment function has been turned off while we are away. Happy reading!
This article was first published online on 25 September 2024.
This article details the recent widening of eligibility for funded herpes zoster vaccine to immunocompromised adults
Key points, Herpes zoster is a painful and potentially severe condition.
Highest incidence of zoster is seen in those with immunocompromise and/or older age.
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References
- Bhavsar A, Lonnet G, Wang C, et al. Increased risk of herpes zoster in adults ≥50 years old diagnosed with COVID-19 in the United States. Open Forum Infect Dis 2022;9(5):ofac118.
- Cunningham AL, Lal H, Kovac M, et al. Efficacy of the herpes zoster subunit vaccine in adults 70 years of age or older. NEJM 2016;375(11):1019–32.
- Goud R, Lufkin B, Duffy J, et al. Risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome following recombinant zoster vaccine in Medicare beneficiaries. JAMA Intern Med 2021;181(12):1623–30.
- Izurieta HS, Wu X, Forshee R, et al. Recombinant zoster vaccine (Shingrix): Real-world effectiveness in the first 2 years post-licensure. Clin Infect Dis 2021;73(6):941–48.
- Lal H, Cunningham AL, Godeaux O, et al. Efficacy of an adjuvanted herpes zoster subunit vaccine in older adults. NEJM 2015;372(22):2087–96.
- Marijam A, Vroom N, Bhavsar A, et al. Systematic literature review on the incidence of herpes zoster in populations at increased risk of disease in the EU/EEA, Switzerland, and the UK. Infect Dis Ther 2024;13(5):1083–104.
- Oostvogels L, Heineman TC, Johnson RW, et al. Medical conditions at enrolment do not impact efficacy and safety of the adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine: a pooled post-hoc analysis of two parallel randomized trials. Hum Vacc Immunother 2019;15(12):2865–72.
- Racine E, Gilca V, Amini R, et al. A systematic literature review of the recombinant subunit herpes zoster vaccine use in immunocompromised 18-49-year-old patients. Vaccine 2020;38(40):6205–14.
- Strezova A, Diez-Domingo J, Al Shawafi K, et al. Long-term protection against herpes zoster by the adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine: Interim efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety results up to 10 years after initial vaccination. Open Forum Infect Dis 2022;9(10):ofac485.
- Tavares-Da-Silva F, Co MM, Dessart C, et al. Review of the initial post-marketing safety surveillance for the recombinant zoster vaccine. Vaccine 2020;38(18):3489–500.
- Walia A, Sun Y, Acharya NR. Risk of herpes zoster ophthalmicus recurrence after recombinant zoster vaccination. JAMA Ophthalmol 2024;142(3):249–56.