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Kids vaccinated against chickenpox less likely to develop shingles, analysis finds
News briefToday at 3:53 p.m.
Meghan Holohan
Topics
Shingles (herpes zoster)
Childhood Vaccines
People of a certain age remember the itchy, red rash and oozing blisters of chickenpox. But children born after the chickenpox vaccine was introduced in the United States in 1995 enjoyed a childhood free from an illness that caused intense itching.
Now, a study published last week by Epic Research shows that adults who receive a chickenpox vaccine will likely avoid another uncomfortable illness—shingles, or herpes zoster. “Children vaccinated against chickenpox carry a lower risk of later shingles than those infected with the wild-type virus,” wrote the authors.
Highest rates in adults born from 1968 to 1975
The researchers examined the medical records of more than 85 million adults from 2019 to 2026 to understand how common shingles are and if the rates of diagnosis have changed.Adults born from 1968 to 1975 experienced the highest rates of shingles, at 181.9 per 10,000 people. That’s about 26 times higher than those born from 2006 to 2008, who had a rate of 6.9 per 10,000.
The difference between the group born from 1991 to 1995 and those born from 1996 to 2000 was stark, dropping from 45.5 per 10,000 to 17.3 per 10,000, respectively, a dip of 62%.
The scientists also examined how new cases of shingles transformed over time. Shingles diagnoses among people aged 25 to 29 years fell by more than half, to three per 10,000 by 2026. People ages 18 to 24 and 30 to 34 also had fewer shingles diagnoses.
Quick takes: NIH extramural research awards, Ebola in new DR Congo health zone, polio in 3 countries
News briefToday at 2:27 p.m.
Mary Van Beusekom, MS
Topics
Ebola
Polio
Viral Hemorrhagic Fever
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) spent its entire 2026 extramural budget of $35.3 billion by the end of September, funding a record number of early-stage investigators but fewer awards overall. In total, the agency funded 1,648 early-stage investigators, a 25% increase over the 10-year average of 1,323. It also awarded 17,543 new grants and renewals, roughly 500 more than last year but 11% below the 2021 to 2024 average. In addition, NIH reported the launch of a new project, Generation Discovery, which aims to recruit 100 early-career investigators into its intramural research program.
- The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) logged 8,809 Ebola cases, including 4,242 deaths, as of mid-week, per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus has also spread into the Alimbongo health zone in North Kivu, and officials said transmission remains “intense” but uneven. “Over the past three completed epidemiological weeks, new weekly cases nationwide have increased by 2.5% from 475 to 487, while new weekly deaths remain stable at 224 compared to 222,” the World Health Organization said in an update yesterday. On a hopeful note, the University of Oxford’s BDBV Bundibugyo Ebola candidate vaccine and Moderna’s vaccine candidate have entered phase 1B clinical trials. Currently, no treatments or vaccines are available for the Bundibugyo virus.
- This week, Pakistan, the DRC, and South Sudan logged 13 total polio infections, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Pakistan reported one case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) with a paralysis onset on August 4, for a total of five cases this year. The DRC documented six circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases with paralysis onsets in August, raising the year’s total to 64. In South Sudan, five people contracted circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) in July and September, for 15 cases so far this year. The country also reported one cVDPV2 infection with paralysis onset on August 22, for a year’s total of four.