It has been just revealed the fact that childhood shingles can result from chickenpox vaccination. Check out the latest reports about this below.
Vaccines can trigger shingles
Over time, childhood vaccines have resulted in unintended consequences. One major issue that has emerged in recent decades is the creation of new risks and vulnerabilities that can be more severe than the condition the vaccine was designed to prevent. The varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is a prime example of this.
Childhood chickenpox was once a common and typically mild illness, but after the implementation of universal varicella vaccination, cases declined while instances of shingles (herpes zoster) increased, causing concern among experts.
Varicella zoster virus causes both chickenpox and shingles infections. Before the varicella vaccine, adults’ immunity to shingles was boosted by children infected with chickenpox.
However, chickenpox vaccination disrupted this mechanism and shifted the average age at which shingles occurs downward.
This also eliminated regular boosting for adults, and previously vaccinated young adults are at increased risk for varicella outbreaks and complications later in life. While wild chickenpox virus circulation may spare some children from the disease, they now face the more serious risk of developing shingles at a young age and chickenpox at an older age.
Adverse reports following vaccination
Children with shingles may experience rare but significant side effects.
For instance, a 6-year-old boy who was previously healthy and received the chickenpox vaccine at 1-year-old developed lesions on his forehead, nasal bridge, and upper and lower eyelids. Similarly, a 6-year-old girl with no medical history who had received the chickenpox vaccine twice (at age 1 and one year before her symptoms began) had persistent shingles-related eye complications
A 7-year-old boy who was up-to-date with his vaccinations and generally healthy experienced symptoms such as headache, eye pain, and eyelid rash.
Lastly, an 8-year-old boy with an unremarkable medical history and up-to-date immunizations developed ocular herpes zoster lesions and nerve palsy.
