Research has followed people who have, and have not, had a shingles vaccine for seven years. It found that shingles vaccination cut older adults’ risk of developing dementia by 20% .
The research, published Wednesday in the prestigious journal Nature, reported that “women seem to benefit more.” This is important as they’re at higher risk of dementia.
The study covered people being given the single jab Zostavax. This vaccine has been replaced in the UK with the two-jab vaccine Shingrix which is very much more effective at preventing shingles.
The vaccine helps with preventing dementia because it prevents the inflammation of the outbreak. It is now considered likely that this inflammatory process helps trigger dementia.
So it is not going to matter if a person has Shingrix or Zostavax. Just preventing the shingles episode is the aim! Here you can see who is able to get vaccinated free. If you are over 50 but outside the NHS free campaign, you can buy Shingrix. Some pharmacies including Boots sell this vaccination service for around £450.
