What Is Zostavax?
Zostavax is an FDA approved medication developed by Merck & Co. to reduce a patients risk of developing shingles. The vaccine is intended for individuals over 50 years of age and works by using a weakened form of the herpes zoster virus in order to trigger a patients immune system to combat the virus. By fighting a weakened version of the virus, the body is theoretically able to then fight off the actual zoster virus thus reducing the risk that shingles will reappear.
Lawsuit Information
Multidistrict litigations have been filed on behalf of individuals who received the vaccine and contracted the shingles virus or experienced other adverse side effects. Current pending lawsuits allege:
- Zostavax is a faulty vaccine
- Merck failed to properly warn patients of potential side effects
- Merck continued to sell Zostavax even though it could injure patients
Side Effects & Complications
Serious side effects and complications individuals report experiencing include:
- Serious neurological disorders including Encephalitis
- Herpetic Neuralgia
- Postherpetic Neuralgia
- Blindness or vision problems
- Facial paralysis
- Hearing loss
- Stroke
- Cardiovascular problems
- Vasculitis
- Pneumonia
- Death