Doctors are being urged to look out for bullous drug eruptions following administration of Australia’s newly recommended varicella zoster vaccine after the adverse reaction was seen in a US patient.

In July, Shingrix became the first choice for adults 50 or older under updated guidance from ATAGI and the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.

It’s also the preferred vaccine in North America, where doctors reported the case of a woman who presented with a bullous rash on her left arm and axilla two days after receiving her second dose of the recombinant adjuvant vaccine.

However, the doctors stressed that the vaccine was well tolerated in most patients and the benefits outweighed the risks, given the association between live vaccine Zostavax and fatal disseminated varicella zoster virus (VZV) infections.