Shingles Vaccine and Knee Replacement: No Risk of Interaction
The recombinant zoster vaccine (Shingrix) is not a live virus vaccine. It contains a single viral glycoprotein (gE) plus adjuvant (AS01B). It cannot replicate, cause infection, or affect prosthetic joints.
There is no contraindication to receiving Shingrix before or after knee replacement. In fact, vaccination is encouraged for adults ≥50 (or ≥19 immunocompromised) to prevent herpes zoster, which can cause significant morbidity and complicate postoperative recovery.
The older live-attenuated vaccine (Zostavax) was contraindicated in immunosuppression but is no longer used in the US/Canada.
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