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Background: Herpes zoster vaccination rates remain low despite longstanding national recommendations to vaccinate immunocompetent adults aged ≥ 50 years. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP) updated its recommendations for recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) in October 2021 to include immunocompromised adults aged ≥19 years., Objective: To assess practices, attitudes, and knowledge about RZV, barriers to recommending RZV, and likelihood of recommending RZV to patients with various immunocompromising conditions., Design: Mail and internet-based survey conducted from May through July 2020., Participants: General internists and family physicians throughout the USA., Main Measures: Survey responses., Key Results: The response rate was 66% (632/955). Many physicians were already recommending RZV to immunocompromised populations, including adults ≥50 years with HIV (67% of respondents) and on recombinant human immune modulator therapy (56%). Forty-seven percent of respondents both stocked/administered RZV and referred patients elsewhere, frequently a pharmacy, for vaccination; 42% did not stock RZV and only referred patients. The majority agreed pharmacies do not inform them when RZV has been given (64%). Physicians were generally knowledgeable about RZV; however, 25% incorrectly thought experiencing side effects from the first dose of RZV that interfere with normal activities was a reason to not receive the second dose. The top reported barrier to recommending RZV was experience with patients declining RZV due to cost concerns (67%). Most physicians reported they would be likely to recommend RZV to immunocompromised patients., Conclusion: Most primary care physicians welcome updated ACIP RZV recommendations for immunocompromised adults. Knowledge gaps, communication issues, and financial barriers need to be addressed to optimize vaccination delivery., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Society of General Internal Medicine.)

Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of the use of recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) (Shingrix), which protects against herpes zoster (HZ), among immunocompromised adults aged 19 to 49 years, as a contribution to deliberations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices., Methods: Hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients experience a high incidence of HZ, and the efficacy of RZV in preventing HZ has been studied in clinical trials. The cost-effectiveness model calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios that compared vaccination with RZV with a no vaccination strategy among adults aged 19 to 49 years. Costs and outcomes were calculated until age 50 years using the healthcare sector perspective and summarized as cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. The base case represents HCT recipients, with scenario analyses representing persons with other immunocompromising conditions, including hematologic malignancies, human immunodeficiency virus, and autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. Uncertainty was investigated using univariate, multivariate, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses., Results: Base-case results indicated vaccination with RZV would avert approximately 35% of HZ episodes and complications, while saving approximately 11% of net costs. Compared with no vaccination, vaccination of HCT recipients with RZV generated cost-savings (ie, lower costs and improved health) in the base case and in 81% of simulations in the probabilistic analysis. In scenario analyses, vaccination cost US dollar ($) 9500/QALY among patients with hematologic malignancies, $79 000/QALY among persons living with human immunodeficiency virus, and $208 000/QALY among persons with selected autoimmune and inflammatory conditions., Conclusions: Generally favorable economic estimates supported recommendations for vaccination of immunocompromised adults with RZV to prevent episodes of HZ and related complications., (Copyright © 2022 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) to prevent against herpes zoster (HZ) and related complications in immunocompetent adults ≥50 y and immunocompromised adults ≥19 y. In 2019, a statistical safety signal for Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following RZV was identified using data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD). Subsequently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and collaborators undertook additional analyses using Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare data to further investigate the potential risk of GBS following RZV. Concurrently, epidemiologic data suggested a potentially elevated risk of GBS following HZ in U.S. adults. Using data from these sources and a published simulation model, this study evaluated the health benefits and risks associated with vaccinating immunocompetent adults ≥50 y with RZV compared to no vaccination. In the base case analysis, RZV vaccination averted 43,000-63,000 cases of HZ, including GBS complications, per million vaccinated per 10-y age cohort compared to 3-6 additional cases of GBS projected following RZV per million vaccinated in the same population. This analysis highlights the projected health benefits of RZV vaccination compared to the relatively low potential risk of GBS following RZV.

In 2018, CDC recommended a highly efficacious adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) as a 2-dose series for prevention of herpes zoster (HZ) for immunocompetent persons age ≥ 50 years, with the 2nd dose recommended 2-6 months after the 1st dose. We estimated second-dose RZV series completion in the U.S. among 50-64-year-olds using two administrative databases. Second-dose RZV series completion was ∼70% within 6-months and 80% within 12-months of first dose. Among those who received only 1 RZV dose with at least 12 months of follow-up time, 96% had a missed opportunity for a second-dose vaccination, defined as a provider or pharmacy visit, among whom 36% had a visit for influenza or pneumococcal vaccination within 2-12 months of their first-dose of RZV. We found that RZV series completion rates in 50-64-year-olds was high. Availability of RZV at pharmacies has potentially helped increase series completion, but missed opportunities remain., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Objective: Persons with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are at an increased risk of herpes zoster (HZ). In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended a highly efficacious vaccine, recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV), for prevention of HZ in immunocompetent patients ≥50 years of age. This study was undertaken to estimate RZV vaccination among adults ages ≥50 years with IMIDs during 2018-2019 and to examine possible vaccine-related flares following RZV., Methods: We identified a cohort of IMID patients using medical claims data from the IBM MarketScan (ages 50-64 years) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare (ages ≥65 years) databases. Presumed flares were defined as hospitalization/emergency department visit for their respective IMIDs, or steroid treatment with a short-acting oral glucocorticoid or parenteral glucocorticoid injection. We conducted a self-controlled case series (SCCS) analysis to examine a temporal association between RZV and flares., Results: Among enrollees with IMIDs, 14.8% of 55,654 MarketScan enrollees and 43.2% of 160,545 Medicare enrollees received ≥1 dose of RZV in 2018-2019. Two-dose series completion rates were 76.6% in MarketScan enrollees and 85.4% in Medicare enrollees. In the SCCS analysis, 10% and 13% developed flares in the control window, compared to 9% and 11-12% in the risk window following 1 or 2 doses of RZV among MarketScan and Medicare enrollees, respectively. We found no statistically significant increase in flares following RZV administration for any IMID in either age group following RZV dose 1 or dose 2., Conclusion: We did not find an increase in presumed flares following RZV vaccination. Among adults ages ≥50 years with IMIDs, a substantial proportion received RZV compared to general zoster coverage estimates, and series completion rates were high., (© 2022 American College of Rheumatology. This article has been contributed to by U.S. Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.)

When the US varicella vaccination program was introduced in 1995, its impacts on the epidemiology of herpes zoster (HZ) were not precisely known. We used a large claims database to examine HZ incidence in the US during 1998-2019 among persons aged ≥30 years (the prevaccine cohort, born before 1990), and aged 1-29 years (includes the postvaccine cohort, born since 1990). We defined incident HZ as the first instance of an outpatient or emergency department (ED) claim with an HZ diagnostic code. Additionally, we examined the proportion of HZ visits among all ED visits as a complementary method to assess for healthcare-seeking artifacts in the findings. In persons aged ≥30 years (prevaccine cohort), we observed age-specific increases in HZ incidence during the earlier study years, with decelerations in later years, starting in 2007 with oldest age groups. Similar patterns were seen when we examined HZ visits as a proportion of all ED visits. For persons aged 1-29 years, age-specific HZ incidence increased early in the study period for the oldest age groups who were born prevaccine, but later declined in a stepwise pattern once each age group was comprised of persons born in the postvaccine period. Our results, corroborated with previously published studies, do not support prior modeling predictions that the varicella vaccination program would increase HZ incidence among adult cohorts who previously experienced varicella. Our findings also suggest that continued declines in age-specific HZ incidence as varicella-vaccinated cohorts age are likely., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. All authors: No reported conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America 2022.)

Zoster Vaccine Recombinant, Adjuvanted (Shingrix, GlaxoSmithKline [GSK]) is a 2-dose (0.5 mL each) subunit vaccine containing recombinant glycoprotein E in combination with adjuvant (AS01 B ) that was licensed in the United States for prevention of herpes zoster for adults aged ≥50 years by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommended for immunocompetent adults aged ≥50 years by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in 2017* (1). On July 23, 2021, the FDA expanded the indication for recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) to include adults aged ≥18 years who are or will be at increased risk for herpes zoster because of immunodeficiency or immunosuppression caused by known disease or therapy (2). On October 20, 2021, ACIP recommended 2 doses of RZV for the prevention of herpes zoster and related complications in adults aged ≥19 years † who are or will be immunodeficient or immunosuppressed because of disease or therapy. RZV is the first herpes zoster vaccine approved for use in immunocompromised persons. With moderate to high vaccine efficacy and an acceptable safety profile, RZV has the potential to prevent considerable herpes zoster incidence and related complications. This report updates previous ACIP recommendations for the prevention of herpes zoster (1,3)., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Camille N. Kotton reports consulting fees from GSK for scientific board membership for CMV vaccines, most recently in October 2019; receipt of payment from UpToDate for chapters on vaccines for immunocompromised patients; and being a counselor for the Transplantation Society. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Epidemiologic data regarding the risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) following herpes zoster (HZ) are limited. We conducted a self-controlled case series analysis using two large national data sources to evaluate the risk of GBS following HZ among U.S. adults. We analyzed medical claims from the IBM® MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Encounters (persons 18-64 years during 2010-2018) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare (persons ≥65 years during 2014-2018) databases. HZ cases were defined as persons with an outpatient claim with a primary or secondary ICD-9 or ICD-10 diagnostic code for HZ. GBS cases were defined as persons with an inpatient claim with a principle diagnostic code for GBS and an associated procedural code. We compared the rates of GBS following HZ in the 1-42-day risk window versus primary (100-365-day) or secondary (43-99-day) control windows. We identified 489,516 persons 18-64 years of age and 650,229 persons ≥65 years of age with HZ, among whom 11 and 41, respectively, developed GBS 1-365 days following HZ. The risk of GBS following HZ was increased during the risk window as compared to the primary control window for both groups, with a rate ratio of 6.3 (95% CI, 1.8-21.9) for those 18-64 years and 4.1 (95% CI, 1.9-8.7) for those ≥65 years. This study provides new and methodologically rigorous epidemiologic support for an association between HZ and GBS, and useful context regarding the benefits versus potential risks of zoster vaccination.

A two-dose series of the recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV, Shingrix) was licensed by the Food and Drug Administration in 2017 and recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in 2018 for adults in the United States age 50 years and older. Despite the health benefits of shingles vaccination, coverage has remained low, with financial barriers among healthcare providers identified as one potential factor. This study estimates the reimbursement levels for RZV among a large sample of privately insured individuals in the US from the 2018 IBM® MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Encounters database. Of 198,534 claims for an RZV dose, the mean reimbursement was $149. Most claims (83%) exceeded $140, which was the private sector vaccine price reported on the CDC vaccine price list in April 2018. These results can be useful for providers considering procuring RZV and for state immunization programs considering ways to improve vaccination coverage., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)