Varicella vaccination drives down Herpes Zoster for children

Routine varicella vaccination of children in the United States was introduced in 1996. Researchers have used database information to study children aged up to 17 years from 2003 through 2014, calculating Herpes Zoster incidence rates per 100 000 person years of health plan membership, comparing children who were vaccinated versus those unvaccinated. This was a huge study that included 6 372 067 children with ≥1 month of health plan membership. For the 12-year period, the crude HZ incidence rate for all subjects was 74 per 100 000 person years, and the rate among children who were vaccinated was 38 per 100 000 person years (78% lower than that among children who were unvaccinated, who were affected at a rate of 170 per 100 000 person years; P < .0001). The overall HZ incidence declined by 72% (P < .0001) from 2003 to 2014. The study adds compelling evidence for the favorable of this vaccination strategy. Read the original research here