SHINGLES could be a new but rare side effect of the coronavirus vaccine, doctors have discovered.
Experts in Israel found that patients with certain autoimmune diseases who received the Pfizer/BioNTech jab were more likely to develop the rash than those without the condition.
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Side effects can occur with any medication including vaccines.
They are always listed on the product information leaflet which comes with the medication.
Most people who have a coronavirus vaccine won’t suffer any side effects but for those who have experienced them, the most common include pain at the site of injection and fatigue.
Medics at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and Carmel Medical Center in Haifa found that shingles was five times more common after the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
The experts said the study “should not scare people” but that it needed to be published so that doctors were aware of the possible side effect.
Dr Victoria Furer a rheumatologist at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center said that they cannot say for sure that the vaccine is the cause of the shingles.
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post she said: “We can say it might be a trigger in some patients”.
She added that five out of the six patients who had developed shingles after the vaccine had autoimmune disease – meaning they should not have been at an increased risk from suffering side effects.
Dr Furer said: “That is why we reported on it. It seems that the reason is that there is some association.
“We should not scare people. The overall message is to get vaccinated. It is just important to be aware.”
