In response to Dr. David Brownstein’s article Should You Get A Shingles Vaccine?
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Wait – don’t I recall that the Shingles vaccine is ineffective in up to 99% of cases? Yes, I do, as a matter of fact, based on the Cochran Report data. And don’t I recall that 1 person is harmed for every 2.8 people vaccinated, with serious adverse events up to, and including, death?
So why would anyone in their right mind recommend the use of this dangerous, and strikingly ineffective nostrum? Money, maybe? Knee jerk compliance, perhaps? Vaccinism blindspot-ism?

Perhaps because of manipulated data as presented in this article and others like it:

“The Shingles Prevention Study, involving more than 38,000 adults 60 years and older, showed that the herpes zoster vaccine prevented approximately half of all episodes of acute zoster and approximately two thirds of all episodes of postherpetic neuralgia (N Engl J Med. 2005;352:2271-2284).”

Well, no, actually, it did not show that at all.

Here is an interesting take on these numbers by Dr. David Brownstein:

“The report states that, over a median surveillance period of 3.12 years, with over 52,000 participants, there was a 51% relative risk reduction in confirmed cases of herpes zoster in those that received the vaccine. Furthermore, the author stated that among those aged 60-69, the number needed to treat to prevent one case of shingles was 50. Among those 70 years and older, the number needed to treat was 100.

These numbers show that, in those aged 60-69, the shingles vaccine was ineffective for 98% (forty-nine out of fifty) of those studied. For those aged 70 and older, the vaccine was 99% ineffective, since 99 out of 100 received no benefit.

I am incredulous that anyone looking at this data could proclaim that the shingles vaccine was effective. In fact, it wasn’t.

According to this data, the shingles vaccine was a 98-99% failure.

Assuming the cost of the vaccine is $200 (a generous assumption), we would have to vaccinate 50 subjects aged 60-69 years to prevent two cases of shingles at a cost of $10,000 per case. For those over 70 years, 100 patients need to be vaccinated to prevent one case of shingles at a cost of $20,000. Clearly, this vaccine is not cost effective in these tough economic times.

Finally, the author summarized the adverse effect risk of the shingles vaccine. The number needed to harm from the vaccine was 2.8. That means for every 2.8 vaccines given, one patient was harmed. Furthermore, for every one hundred subjects vaccinated, one had a severe adverse reaction such as rash, fever, or hospitalization.

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Yours in health and freedom,
Dr. Rima