I Had Shingles Last December And Took Zovirax Medicine As Per Doctor's Prescription

Posted on Sun, 31 Jan 2021

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 31 Jan 2021 Answered on

Fri, 7 Mar 2025 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello Doctor, My name is Jithilkumar. I am living in UAE.
I had Shingles last December and took Zovirax medicine as per Doctor's prescription. By the grace of God & help of my doctor, Shingles got completely cured in 2-3 weeks.
I want to know, Is it safe for me to take Covid-19 vaccine (Sinopharm China Vaccine which is availabe in UAE)? Kindly advise.

Answered by Dr. Klarida Papaqako (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Shingles is treated. Medicine is out of your system.Will not effect vaccine

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Shingles is completely gone and the treatment you took is gone from your system. It doesn't have any effect for the future decisions that you will make for your health. If you think that vaccine is good for you and you decide to take it, go for it.

Hope this is helpful. Let me know if I can assist you further.

Kind regards, Dr. Klarida Papaqako, General and Family physician.
Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj

Follow up: Dr. Klarida Papaqako (50 minutes later)

Thank you Doctor. So I understand that there is no issue of taking Covid vaccine even I had shingles 1 month ago.

Answered by Dr. Klarida Papaqako (5 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
You only have better immunity now.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Yes, they are not related.

Vaccines should not have major side effects. Should be safe even for very old people and children. I cannot tell for sure about this new Vaccine because it is new.

But overall think it as you now have more immunity because you had shingles.

Kind regards,
Dr. Papaqako

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj