Herpes infections could be a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine, experts have revealed.
Scientists in Israel have identified six cases in a new study of patients who develop a skin rash known as herpes zoster after receiving the Pfizer vaccine, according to a study in the Journal of Rheumatology.
Herpes zoster starts as a small, itchy skin rash, but if left untreated, it can cause nerve damage and pain, reports the Jerusalem Post.
This can include a prolonged burning sensation on the skin, even after the rash has disappeared.
Researchers from the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and the Carmel Medical Center in Haifa found that those with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases have a higher risk of developing the herpes infection.
Out of 491 patients, six people or 1.2 percent experienced the infection, researchers said.
The six patients all had mild cases of autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases and were young, although the infection usually occurs more commonly in those older than 50.
“That’s why we reported on it,” Dr Victoria Furer, the lead author, said at the end.
Five of them developed herpes zoster after the first dose and the sixth got it after the second dose.
But it is still unclear whether the vaccine caused the cases of herpes zoster.
“We can not say that the vaccine is the cause at this stage,” Furer said. “We can say that it can be a trigger in some patients.”
According to Furer, further research is needed, and one implication may be that patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases are encouraged to be vaccinated against herpes zoster before receiving their COVID-19 shot.
“We must not scare people,” she told the Jerusalem Post. ‘The general message is to be vaccinated. It’s just important to be aware. ”