Herpes infections can be a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine, experts said.
Israeli scientists have identified six cases in a new study of patients who developed a rash known as shingles after receiving the Pfizer vaccine, according to a study in the journal Rheumatology.
Shingles begins as a small, itchy rash, but if left untreated, it could cause nerve damage and pain, the Jerusalem Post reported.
This may include a prolonged burning sensation on the skin even after the rash has disappeared.
Researchers at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and Carmel Medical Center in Haifa found that those with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases have a higher risk of developing herpes infection.
Of the 491 patients, six or 1.2% had the infection, the researchers said.
The six patients all have mild cases of autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases and were young, although the infection is generally more common in those over 50 years of age.
“That’s why I reported this,” said Dr. Victoria Furer, lead author.
Five of them developed shingles after the first dose, and the sixth received it after the second dose.
But it is still unclear whether the vaccine caused herpes zoster cases.
“We can’t say the vaccine is the cause right now,” Furer told the store. “We can say that it could be a trigger in some patients.”
Furer said more research is needed and one implication could be that patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases be encouraged to get vaccinated against shingles before receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
“You shouldn’t scare people,” she told the Jerusalem Post. The general message is to get vaccinated. It’s just important to be aware. ”