In recent years, increasing numbers of studies have shown that the shingles vaccine appears to be capable of protecting the aging body and brain, and dementia specialists are taking note. In April 2025, a major study by researchers at Stanford University suggested vaccination against shingles could prevent one in five new cases of dementia. More recent studies have also linked getting a shingles vaccine to slower biological aging across a variety of measures.
One explanation given for the findings is that the vaccine might be stimulating the immune system in a broadly beneficial manner. While there is likely some truth in this, additional research increasingly points to the value of avoiding shingles (or reactivations of the varicella-zoster virus) in the first place, with two separate studies finding associations between shingles and self-reported cognitive decline and dementia.
Neurovirologists believe this emerging data underlines the importance of avoiding infection, through the childhood chickenpox vaccination—given to children in the US since 1995 and introduced in the UK in January 2026—and through the adult shingles vaccine and booster jabs in later life.
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