Herpes zoster (HZ) risk appears to vary by sex and geographic ancestry/ethnicity. In 2 randomised clinical trials, participants received 2 doses of adjuvanted recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) or placebo intramuscularly, 2 months apart. In this post-hoc analysis, the efficacy of RZV against HZ and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) were investigated by sex, geographic region, and geographic ancestry/ethnicity in ≥50-year-olds (ZOE-50 study) and ≥70-year-olds (ZOE-70 study).
Vaccine efficacy against HZ or PHN was similar in women and men. Across geographic regions, efficacy against HZ ranged between 95.7 and 97.2% in ≥50-year-olds, and between 87.3% and 95.1% in ≥70-year-olds; efficacy against PHN ranged between 86.8 and 100% in ≥70-year-olds. Across ancestral/ethnic groups, efficacy ranged between 88.1 and 100% against HZ and between 65.9 and 100% against PHN in ≥70-year-olds.
To read more, visit https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31537443/