Herpes zoster in Belgium: a new solution to an old problem

Figures & data

Box 1. Immunosenescence is the major risk factor for developing shingles.

Figure 1. Incidence (per 10,000 person-years) of consultations for herpes zoster by age group, 2006–2012, Belgian sentinel network of general practitioners (reproduced from Sabbe et al., with authorisation [25]).

Figure 2. Long term vaccine efficacy of RZV against herpes zoster in adults ≥50 years of age [52]. RZV, recombinant zoster vaccine.

Table 1. RZV real-world evidence of vaccine effectiveness in studies conducted in the United States.

Author, reference	Study design	Data source	Population	Cohort size	Median follow-up	Outcome	Age-group (years)	Vaccine effectiveness % (95% CI)
Sun et al. [58]	Retrospective cohort	OptumLabs Data Warehouse	≥50 years non-immunocompromised	4,769,819	7.0 months	HZ infection	≥50	85.5 (83.5–87.3)
							50–59	85.6 (53.3–95.6)
							60–69	87.7 (82.5–91.4)
							70–79	86.5 (83.9–88.6)
							≥80	80.3 (75.1–84.3)
Sun et al. [59]	Retrospective cohort	Kaiser Permanente Hawaii	≥50 years non-immunocompromised	78,356	730 days	HZ in Hawaiian population	≥50	83.5 (74.9–89.2)
							50–59	100
							60–69	67.7 (11.8–88.1)
							70–79	83.3 (70.1–90.7)
							≥80	86.4 (73.5–93.0)
						HZ ophthalmicus	≥50	93.3 (48.7–99.1)
Izurieta et al. [60]	Retrospective cohort	Medicare	≥65 years	15,589,546	7.1 months	HZ infection	≥65	70.1 (68.6–71.5)
							65–79	70.6 (68.9–72.1)
							≥80	68.5 (65.1–71.6)
			Immunocompromised				≥65	64.1 (57.2–69.8)
			Autoimmune disease				≥65	68.0 (62.3–72.8)
Lu et al. [61]	Retrospective cohort	OptumLabs Data Warehouse	≥50 years non-immunocompromised	4,842,579	730 days	HZ ophthalmicus	≥50	89.1 (82.9–93.0)
							50–59	100
							60–69	87.6 (59.9–96.2)
							70–79	88.9 (80.6–93.7)
							≥80	88.8 (77.5–94.5)
Parameswaran et al. [62]	Retrospective case-control	Department of Veterans Affairs’ Corporate Data Warehouse	≥18 years	2,165,505	90 days	Stroke within 30 days	≥50	43.0 (28–54)
Kochhar et al. [63]	Retrospective cohort	Explorys	≥50 years with IBD	112,220	At least 9 months	HZ infection	≥50	64% (44–77)
								aHR (95% CI)
Bruxvoort et al. [64]	Retrospective cohort	Kaiser Permanente California	≥50 years with/without same day concomitant vaccination	41,251		HZ infection	≥50	0.75 (0.53–1.08)
							50–59	0.74 (0.25–2.21)
							60–69	0.82 (0.48–1.40)
							70–79	0.61 (0.33–1.14)
							≥80	0.86 (0.28–2.58)

aHR, adjusted hazard ratio; CI, confidence interval; HZ, herpes zoster; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; RZV, recombinant zoster vaccine (Shingrix).

Box 2. Common questions (Q) and answers (A) about the recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV).

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Data availability statement

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.