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People of a certain age remember the itchy, red rash and oozing blisters of chickenpox. But children born after the chickenpox vaccine was introduced in the United States in 1995 enjoyed a childhood free from an illness that caused intense itching. 

Now, a study published last week by Epic Research shows that adults who receive a chickenpox vaccine will likely avoid another uncomfortable illness—shingles, or herpes zoster. “Children vaccinated against chickenpox carry a lower risk of later shingles than those infected with the wild-type virus,” wrote the authors. 

The researchers examined the medical records of more than 85 million adults from 2019 to 2026 to understand how common shingles are and if the rates of diagnosis have changed. 

Adults born from 1968 to 1975 experienced the highest rates of shingles, at 181.9 per 10,000 people. That’s about 26 times higher than those born from 2006 to 2008, who had a rate of 6.9 per 10,000. 

The difference between the group born from 1991 to 1995 and those born from 1996 to 2000 was stark, dropping from 45.5 per 10,000 to 17.3 per 10,000, respectively, a dip of 62%. 

Children vaccinated against chickenpox carry a lower risk of later shingles than those infected with the wild-type virus.

The scientists also examined how new cases of shingles transformed over time. Shingles diagnoses among people aged 25 to 29 years fell by more than half, to three per 10,000 by 2026. People ages 18 to 24 and 30 to 34 also had fewer shingles diagnoses.