Can Shingles Vaccine Cause Rheumatoid Arthritis

Unlike the pneumonia vaccine the shingles vaccine contains live virus so it s not recommended for people taking certain types of rheumatoid arthritis medications.

Can shingles vaccine cause rheumatoid arthritis.

Risk factors including aging and immunosuppression can lead to the reactivation of the virus usually along the course of a single nerve from the spine. People with chronic conditions like diabetes kidney disease rheumatoid arthritis and respiratory diseases should get the vaccine. This virus is never completely cleared from our bodies but lies quietly in spinal nerve cells. You should not get the shingrix vaccine if you ve ever had a.

Talk to your rheumatologist about that. Who can and can t get the shingles vaccine. Rheumatoid arthritis chronic pulmonary disease unless a. The consensus of scientific literature though is that vaccines do not cause rheumatoid arthritis or other rheumatic diseases.

Most adults have been exposed to varicella zoster virus which causes chickenpox. This is why the shingles vaccine has been off limits. Zoster vaccine live zvl zostavax has been in use since 2006. Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful skin rash and people with ra are very vulnerable to it.

Avoid live virus vaccines with ra it s important to remember that those of us living with rheumatoid arthritis who use immunosuppressant medications such as one of the biologics or methotrexate should avoid receiving live virus vaccines for risk of developing the infection. Many adults have had infection with chicken pox as a child. Shingles represents the reactivation of a previous viral infection with herpes zoster the cause of chicken pox. Avoid the shingrix vaccine if you ve ever had the following.

Talk to your doctor about which vaccinations might be appropriate for you and when during the course of your treatment is the best time to receive them. Two vaccines are licensed and recommended to prevent shingles in the u s. According to the hospital for special surgery with regard to worsening of existing rheumatic disease there haven t been many studies. People with rheumatoid arthritis ra have roughly twice the risk of healthy older adults of developing shingles a virus related to chickenpox that causes pain and a blistering rash.

Recombinant zoster vaccine rzv shingrix has been in use since 2017 and is recommended by acip as the preferred shingles vaccine. First rheumatoid disease patients taking methotrexate azathriopine or prednisone may take the shingles vaccine if they re taking specific small dosages of those drugs according to an article in a recent issue of rheumatology news.