The zona is a viral dermatosis which particularly affects people in adulthood, caused by the reactivation of the chicken-zona virus, which remained latent in terms of sensitive nodes in people who have had chickenpox (most often during their childhood). Its complications (persistent neuropathic pain, eye damage) can be serious, especially after 50 years. We deplore annually in the French population 346 new cases of zona per 100,000 inhabitants. The median age of the zona is 65 years and the majority of cases are women (60.8 %).
The Shingrix® vaccine (recombinant vaccine) is the only zona vaccine marketed in France. Since December 2024, he has been refundable for people aged 65 and over, and those aged 18 and over with an increased risk of Zona.
Data in favor of vaccination efficiency, versus placebo, in terms of reducing the number of zona cases are 90 %. It requires two doses. The vaccine decreases the risk of post-zosterian neuralgia.
In addition, a recent study, relating to more than a million people, has shown that the zona vaccine reduces the risk of heart disease for a period of up to 8 years. People vaccinated against zona have a reduced risk of 23 % of cardiovascular events, including stroke, heart failure and coronary disease. Another study on an elderly population in Wales suggests that anti-zona vaccination with the Zostavax® vaccine (Living Vaccine attenuated whose marketing has been stopped in France since June 2024) could provide significant protection against dementia.
