Research Progress on Varicella-Zoster Virus Vaccines
Hongjing Liu1,2, Lingyan Cui1,2, Sibo Zhang1,2
1State Key Laboratory of Vaccines for Infectious Diseases, Xiang An Biomedicine Laboratory, School of Public Health, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China.
Vaccines
|July 30, 2025
Summary
Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccines significantly reduce chickenpox and shingles. New vaccine technologies promise improved safety and immunity for public health.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Immunology
- Vaccinology
Background:
- Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox and shingles, posing public health risks due to high transmissibility and complications.
- Current VZV vaccines, including live attenuated and recombinant subunit types, have reduced disease incidence but present safety and efficacy challenges.
- Immunocompromised individuals and vaccine side effects remain key concerns for VZV prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccine technologies and their impact on public health.
- To analyze the mechanisms, clinical applications, and immunization strategies of existing and emerging VZV vaccines.
- To explore future directions in VZV vaccine development for enhanced disease prevention.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of VZV vaccine mechanisms, clinical data, and immunization strategies.
- Synthesis of current knowledge on live attenuated, recombinant subunit, mRNA, viral vector, and VLP vaccines.
- Analysis of vaccine safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy in diverse populations.
Main Results:
- VZV vaccines have substantially decreased varicella and herpes zoster incidence globally.
- Live attenuated vaccines raise safety concerns in immunocompromised populations.
- Recombinant subunit vaccines show high efficacy but have side effects and adjuvant limitations.
Conclusions:
- Advancements in vaccine technology, such as mRNA and VLP platforms, offer improved safety and durable immunity against VZV.
- Continued research is crucial to optimize VZV vaccine strategies and maximize their public health impact.
- VZV vaccines are essential tools for preventing severe VZV-related diseases.
