Merck stated that their research showed the vaccine reduced the incidence of shingles by half, and pain and discomfort by two-thirds.  This means that if you take the vaccine you only have a 50/50 chance the vaccine will work for you.

According to the FDA, the vaccine’s long term effectiveness is still not clear.  Merck has only been able to demonstrate that the vaccine works for at least four years.  Merck plans to track patients for at least a decade in determining its effectiveness.

The FDA also said that Merck has pledged to study further the vaccine’s safety after patients in clinical trials suffered a slightly higher number of serious side effects than did those who received dummy injections.

No evidence exists that the vaccine was to blame, the FDA added.  A La Vioxx????

Merck, remember, is the maker of Vioxx which killed a goodly number of people while the FDA steadfastly refused to ban the sale of Vioxx.

Now that we have explored the vaccine, let’s talk about this nasty virus itself.

If you have ever had shingles, you know how painful this viral disease can be. Shingles is a disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox.

Anyone who has had chickenpox is a prime candidate for developing its sister disease, shingles. That's because you never actually "get rid" of chickenpox once you've had it.  The blisters may disappear, but remnants of the virus remain in your body for the rest of your life, waiting for an opportunity (when you're stressed or your immune system is suppressed) to reappear as very painful shingles.

Shingles is estimated to affect 2 in every 10 people in their lifetime. This year, more than 500,000 people will develop shingles.  Some statistics say over 1,000,000 people will develop shingles.  Whichever the statistic, these are big numbers and a lot of painful suffering.

Although shingles is most common in people over age 50, if you have had chickenpox, you are always at risk for developing shingles. Shingles is also more common in people with weakened immune systems from HIV infection, chemotherapy, radiation treatments, transplant operations, and stress.

Early signs of shingles include burning or shooting pain and tingling or itching generally located on one side of the body or face. The pain can be severe. Rash or blisters are present anywhere from 1 to 14 days.

If shingles appears on your face, it can lead to complications in your hearing and vision. For instance, if shingles affects your eye, the cornea can become infected and lead to temporary or permanent blindness. Another complication of the virus is postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a condition where the pain from shingles persists for months, sometimes years, after the shingles rash has healed.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for shingles, but the severity and duration of an attack of shingles can be significantly reduced if you are treated immediately with antiviral drugs, which include acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famcyclovir.

Antiviral drugs may also help stave off the painful after-effects of PHN. Other treatments for PHN include painkillers, steroids, antidepressants, and anti-seizure medicine.

Is shingles contagious?

Yes, people with shingles are contagious to persons who have not had chickenpox. Therefore, people who have not had chickenpox can catch chickenpox if they have close contact with a person who has shingles.

However, you can not catch shingles itself from someone else. Shingles is caused by the chickenpox virus which has been dormant (staying quiet) in your body ever since you had chickenpox. So, you get shingles from your own chickenpox virus, not from someone else.

I had chicken pox when I was a kid and am just as vulnerable to shingles as anyone else who has had this disease.  Am I going to run and get a vaccination?  No way!

I hate drugs and don’t trust the new vaccine, especially when serious side effects show up and the FDA says there is no real proof that the vaccine is to blame.  They said the same thing about Vioxx while people were dieing!

The best “vaccine and drugs” I know of to prevent shingles and other debilitating and life threatening disease are called anti-oxidants, nutritional supplements, healthy eating, and drinking ionized water.

Another word for this shingles avoidance process is called PREVENTION, a word, regrettably, so foreign to so many people.

It’s time everyone woke up to the fact that you don’t have to get sick, but you do have to practice prevention. 

To your good health and longevity.

Ira Marxe
CEO, Good Health Supplement