May 4, 2021

Varicella-Zoster Virus Reactivation after SARS-Cov2 BNT162b2 MRNA Vaccination: Report of Five Cases

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Vaccines and Immunity

Keywords (Tags): ', co-infections, vaccine

• A series of 5 cases of herpes zoster reactivation were observed among a healthcare worker cohort in Spain that received at least the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (n=3,707) over a period of four weeks. Three patients presented with herpes zoster after the first dose, while two presented after the second dose. All patients were young, healthy adults with no blood count abnormalities. Compared to a background herpes zoster incidence of 249-359 cases per 100,000 person-years, the incidence in this case series would correspond to 1,995 cases per 100,000 person-years.

Rodríguez-Jiménez et al. (Apr 17, 2021). Varicella-Zoster Virus Reactivation after SARS-Cov2 BNT162b2 MRNA Vaccination: Report of Five Cases. JAAD Case Reports. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdcr.2021.04.014