Association study between herpes zoster reporting and mRNA COVID-19
vaccines (BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273)
Abstract
Several cases of herpes zoster (HZ) following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination
(BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273) have been reported, and first epidemiological
evidences suggest an increased risk. We used the worldwide
pharmacovigilance database VigiBase to describe HZ cases following mRNA
COVID-19 vaccination. We performed disproportionality analyses
(case/non-case statistical approach) to assess the relative risk of HZ
reporting in mRNA COVID-19 vaccine recipients compared to influenza
vaccine recipients and according to patient age. Until 30th June 2021,
of 716,928 reports about mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, we found 7,728 HZ
cases. When compared to influenza vaccines, mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were
associated with a significantly higher reporting of HZ (reporting
odds-ratio 1.9, 95%CI [1.8-2.1]). Furthermore, we found a reduced
risk of reporting HZ among under 40 year-old persons compared to older
persons (reporting odds-ratio 0.39, 95%CI [0.36-0.41]). For the
first time, we could assess at a global level the risk of HZ after mRNA
COVID-19 vaccination.