A study of people who received the shingles vaccine has found that it is safe and well tolerated, with an extremely low rate of side effects.

More than 99 percent of Americans over age 40 have had chicken pox and are therefore at risk for shingles, an acute and painful nerve inflammation that usually strikes older adults. In one study, the vaccine reduces the odds of an outbreak by 55 percent in people over age 60.

But although the vaccine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for people over age 50, fewer than 10 percent of them have been vaccinated. There have been disruptions in supply of the vaccine, which costs $160 per dose and must be stored frozen.

Researchers studied medical records of 193,083 people age 50 and older, following them for six weeks after getting the vaccine. They found no increased risk for stroke, heart disease, heart attack, meningitis or encephalitis.

There was no increased risk for Bell’s palsy or Ramsay Hunt syndrome, possible complications of infection with herpes zoster, the virus that causes shingles and chicken pox. The most common side effect was swelling or redness at the site

You can read the rest of the article at the New York Times: Prevention: Shingles Vaccine Is Shown to Be Very Safe