Herpes Zoster Vaccination Delivers Long Term Shingles Protection for Older Adults

GSK plc today announced positive data from a long-term follow-up phase III clinical trial. The trial followed participants up to approximately 11 years following initial vaccination with Shingrix®, a non-live, recombinant subunit Herpes Zoster vaccine.

Announced on April 17, 2024, the final trial data demonstrate that Shingrix maintained efficacy against shingles for over a decade across all age groups.

The results from the ZOSTER-049 study, an extension from two phase III clinical trials in adults aged 50 and over (ZOE-50 and ZOE-70), include:

• 79.7% vaccine efficacy (VE) in adults aged ≥50 cumulatively within the period from year six to year 11 after vaccination,
• 82.0% VE in adults ≥50 at year 11, showing VE remains high each year after vaccination,
• 73.1% VE in adults aged ≥70 cumulatively from six to 11 years after immunization, showing high VE rates.

In a press release, Dr. Javier Díez-Domingo, Principal Investigator, said, "These final data demonstrate continued protection over more than a decade with high efficacy maintained in both the 50+ and 70+ age groups."

"Infectious diseases like shingles pose a significant risk to adults due to the natural decline in our immune system, and these data represent a remarkable advancement in our understanding of what can be achieved long-term for effective protection against shingles."

Globally, shingles will affect about 30% of people in their lifetimes.

Up to 30% of people experience post-herpetic neuralgia following a shingles rash, a long-lasting nerve pain that can last weeks or months and occasionally persist for several years.

In the U.S., Shingrix was approved by the FDA on October 20, 2017, and is offered at most pharmacies.