Association of COVID-19 vaccination with herpes zoster: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Background

Following COVID-19 vaccination, several herpes zoster cases have been reported, making it critical to explore the association between herpes zoster and COVID-19 vaccination. This is especially true in the context of increasing the number of participants enrolled to receive COVID-19 vaccination.

Research Design and Methods

Three databases, including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and EMBASE, were searched for relevant studies before 25 December 2021 according to preliminarily determined inclusion and exclusion criteria without any language limitations. Four cohort studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis.

Results

Compared with the placebo group, there was no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccination group was associated with increased incidence of herpes zoster (Risk ratio [RR]: 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.91 to 1.24). There is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccination from Moderna is associated with the incidence of herpes zoster compared with vaccination from Pfizer (RR: 0.20; 95% CI: 0.01 to 2.99).

Conclusions

To date, there is no evidence of an association between covid-19 vaccination and herpes zoster.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• herpes zoster
• meta-analysis
• vaccination

Declaration

Consent for publication

All authors approved the publication of this paper.

Declaration of Interests

The authors have no proprietary interest in any aspect of this study.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have received an honorarium for their review work. Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no other relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Author’s contributions

H-LL and T.H. Tung conceived the study. C-WC and ZL-J collected the data. C-WC, ZL-J and Y-PY was responsible for the coding of the analyses. C-WC, ZL-J, Y-PY and T.H. Tung analyzed and interpreted the data, and wrote the first draft of the paper. C-WC, ZL-J, and P-CW searched, sorted, and interpreted the relevant literature. All authors edited and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

There was no additional financial support from public or private sources.