Herpes Zoster Following Vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Coronavirus Vaccine (Recombinant)

ABSTRACT

Ever since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS?CoV?2) pandemic, science has unraveled much knowledge on SARS?CoV?2 which has led to extraordinary and unprecedented progress in developing COVID?19 vaccines. Several adverse cutaneous reactions, ranging from more common local injection site reaction, neutrophilic and pustular drug reactions to flare?up of preexisting dermatoses, have been reported with currently available vaccines. We report a case series of 7 patients who developed herpes zoster (HZ) following the first dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV?19 coronavirus vaccine (recombinant). HZ following vaccination is a rare entity. The occurrence of HZ in the patients presented in this series within the time window 1–21 days after vaccination defined for increased risk and postulated dysregulation of T?cell?mediated immunity, suggests that the ChAdOx1 nCoV?19 coronavirus vaccine (recombinant) could probably be a trigger for reactivation of varicella zoster virus to cause HZ in them.