Zoster Vaccination for Persons Aged 50 to 59 Years
Authors: Phuc Le, Michael B. Rothberg
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2016)

Letters21 June 2016Zoster Vaccination for Persons Aged 50 to 59 YearsPhuc Le, PhD, MPH and Michael B. Rothberg, MD, MPHPhuc Le, PhD, MPHFrom Center for Value-Based Care Research, Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.Search for more papers by this author and Michael B. Rothberg, MD, MPHFrom Center for Value-Based Care Research, Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L15-0587 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:Mr. Kumar and colleagues take issue with several assumptions in our model. Their assertion that HZ incidence will continue to increase for 50 years is based on mathematical models from the 1990s. However, 2 large clinical trials of HZ vaccines conducted 10 years apart and with careful monitoring and adjudication of HZ cases reported almost identical incidence of HZ in the placebo groups (1, 2), which was similar to our modeled incidence.We agree that initial vaccine efficacy is closely related to age at vaccination, as demonstrated in the Shingles Prevention Study. However, the model by Li and ...References1. Oxman MN, Levin MJ, Johnson GR, Schmader KE, Straus SE, Gelb LD, et al. A vaccine to prevent herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in older adults. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:2271-84. [PMID: 15930418] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Lal H, Cunningham AL, Godeaux O, Chlibek R, Diez-Domingo J, Hwang SJ, et al. Efficacy of an adjuvanted herpes zoster subunit vaccine in older adults. N Engl J Med. 2015;372:2087-96. [PMID: 25916341] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Li X, Zhang JH, Betts RF, Morrison VA, Xu R, Itzler RF, et al. Modeling the durability of ZOSTAVAX® vaccine efficacy in people ≥60 years of age. Vaccine. 2015;33:1499-505. [PMID: 25444784] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Morrison VA, Johnson GR, Schmader KE, Levin MJ, Zhang JH, Looney DJ, et al. Long-term persistence of zoster vaccine efficacy. Clin Infect Dis. 2015;60:900-9. [PMID: 25416754] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Drolet M, Levin MJ, Schmader KE, Johnson R, Oxman MN, Patrick D, et al. Employment related productivity loss associated with herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia: a 6-month prospective study. Vaccine. 2012;30:2047-50. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Preaud E, Uhart M, Bohm K, Aidelsburger P, Anger D, Bianic F, et al. Cost-effectiveness analysis of a vaccination program for the prevention of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in adults aged 50 and over in Germany. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2015;11:884-96. [PMID: 25933182] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Center for Value-Based Care Research, Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/Conflict OfInterestForms.do?msNum=M15-0093. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoCost-Effectiveness of Herpes Zoster Vaccine for Persons Aged 50 Years Phuc Le and Michael B. Rothberg Zoster Vaccination for Persons Aged 50 to 59 Years Vivek Kumar , Jason Kessler , and Elisabeth J. Cohen Metrics Cited byResponse to publication by Hoshi SL et al.: Cost-effectiveness of varicella vaccine against herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia for elderly in Japan 21 June 2016Volume 164, Issue 12Page: 850-851KeywordsClinical trial reportingConflicts of interestDisclosureMathematical modelsQuality adjusted life yearsShinglesVaccines ePublished: 21 June 2016 Issue Published: 21 June 2016 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2016 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...