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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsShingles Vaccine Can Decrease Risk of Dementia, Study Finds
Getting vaccinated against shingles can reduce the risk of developing dementia, a large new study finds.
The results provide some of the strongest evidence yet that some viral infections can have effects on brain function years later and that preventing them can help stave off cognitive decline.
The study, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, found that people who received the shingles vaccine were 20 percent less likely to develop dementia in the seven years afterward than those who were not vaccinated.
If youre reducing the risk of dementia by 20 percent, thats quite important in a public health context, given that we dont really have much else at the moment that slows down the onset of dementia, said Dr. Paul Harrison, a professor of psychiatry at Oxford. Dr. Harrison was not involved in the new study, but has done other research indicating that shingles vaccines lower dementia risk.
Whether the protection can last beyond seven years can only be determined with further research. But with few currently effective treatments or preventions, Dr. Harrison said, shingles vaccines appear to have some of the strongest potential protective effects against dementia that we know of that are potentially usable in practice.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/health/shingles-vaccine-dementia.html
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Well, all the anti-vax MAGAts will lose their minds.....

LetMyPeopleVote
(161,378 posts)This makes me smiel
Littlered
(201 posts)For reasons I dont fully understand, that one worries me. And this is coming from someone who feels like they are gonna need hospitalized after every Covid booster, lol.
LetMyPeopleVote
(161,378 posts)I did not feel much for the second shot
Littlered
(201 posts)tavernier
(13,614 posts)The injections themselves were painless, but after several hours my arm (both times) was quite sore. But certainly worth the discomfort for rhe protection.
Littlered
(201 posts)WhiskeyGrinder
(24,620 posts)One out of three people who had chicken pox will get shingles.
yardwork
(66,104 posts)I think my arm was sore for a few days. Nothing like COVID vaccines for me. (For those I have to set aside a weekend to recover.)
Meowmee
(8,471 posts)I still have to get mine. My brother just got his first shot yesterday. I would like to see the actual research, I'll look it up.
I_UndergroundPanther
(13,042 posts)Shingles vaccine already.
wcmagumba
(3,788 posts)
Meowmee
(8,471 posts)Shingles is caused by a herpes related virus- varicella roster... once you have chicken pox it goes into your nervous system and is dormant, it can come out at any time from lowered immunity, stress etc. The vaccine will suppress a reactivation for 7-10 years. Both my father and brother had shingles but they had mild cases. My brother just got his shot, so yes. It also costs $500 without coverage, so better to get it now before they start trying to nix not only many vaccines but also medicare and coverage for them most likely.
If you didn't have chicken pox but had the vaccine, you are somewhat protected but not completely so it's still recommended to have the shingles vaccine: Shingrix, which is different than the chicken pox vaccine: Varicella.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/varicella-zoster-virus
https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/shingles/fact_sheet.htm#:~:text=What%20is%20shingles?,a%20vaccine%20to%20prevent%20shingles.
pinkstarburst
(1,686 posts)So you have to get it every 10 years as a booster after the initial 2 doses of Shingrix? I didn't know that protection only lasts 10 years.