Experts question timing of vaccination against shingles

In national television and magazine ads, Merck has been urging people aged 50 and over to get protected against herpes zoster (shingles) by being vaccinated with Zostavax. "It is estimated that nearly one in 3 people will experience shingles in their lifetime. And that risk increases after the age of 50. Will you be the one?" Merck's advertising campaign asks. "If you get the vaccine you'll be protected," says Dr. Deepali Kumar, an associate professor of medicine in transplant infectious diseases at the University of Alberta and a member of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). "But whether you'll need another booster 10 years later is not known." "Since we don't have information on how long the vaccine will last, it's difficult to know at what age it makes most sense to get the Zostavax vaccination, where you're best able to balance its effectiveness against its cost," she says.