This blog is word for word copy from an article in the 7March2026 copy of New Scientist on Page 20. It details some surprising side benefits of vaccinations. If it could be summarized in one sentence, it would seem that a vaccination causes a general gingering up of the whole immune system which, as you will read, has some beneficial effects. The article is written by a New Scientist writer, Michael Le Page.
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The surprising vaccine side effects that boost long-term health. People often focus on the bad side effects of vaccines, but they can have some great ones too.
I am currently arranging to get a shingles Vaccination. I had shingles at university and still bear the scars. so I really don't want to risk getting it again. But I also have in mind the fact that the benefits of the shingles vaccine aren't limited to preventing shingles. And this isn't unusual. Many vaccines have benefits that go way beyond protecting against single virus of bacterium - fact that aren't nearly as widely know as they should be.
Let's start with shingles. A study of more than a million people last year reported that those given the Zostavax shingles vaccine were 26% less likely to die from heart disease or experience a stroke, heart attack or heart failure during an average of 6 years after the shot - a massive reduction in the risk for such an easy intervention.
What's more, people given a newer shingles vaccine called Shingrix were 17% less likely to develop dementia in the next 6 years, compared with those given Zostavax. Since, several studies have shown that Zostavax also reduces the risk of dementia, the overall reduction in risk with Shingrix should be even larger.
Flue vaccines also have cardiovascular benefits. For instance, and analysis combining data from more than 9000 people involved in 6 trials found those vaccinated against flu had a 34% lower risk of a heat attack or stroke in the next year. The benefit was even greater for people with a recent history of heart problems.
The new vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus or RSV, seem to help prevent heart problems too. A study involving around 130,000 people over [age] 60 found that those who had one kind of RSV vaccine were less likely to be hospitalized with heart or lung issues than those who went unvaccinated.
Then there are the covid-19 mRNA vaccines. They turn out to boost the immune response to tumors along with Immunotherapy, extending peoples lives
I could keep listing examples, but let's turn instead to why so many vaccines have these wider benefits. We don't know the precise mechanism but it's not surprising that they do.
Viruses can do lasting physical damage to the body and the immune response to them can also harm tissues. So-called cytokine storms, in which the body overreacts and releases too many immune stimulating signals, are often what kill people with infections such as flu or covid-19
Many viruses also target our immune system to help evade it, weakening our defenses.
There's this idea in some circles that natural immunity from getting a disease is better than vaccination. It's bonkers for all the reasons above and more, and measles is a great example of why.
Measles vaccines have cut the number of deaths from the disease from more than 2 million a year before 1980 to fewer than 100,000 in 2024. They have also had the unexpected effect of reducing the number of children dying from other infectious diseases.
Why? Part of the answer is that measles kills off some immune cells, leaving children more vulnerable to a wide range of infections for years afterwards. But measles vaccines also seem to train the immune system in a way that boosts its wider effectiveness. This training effect is so beneficial, it's even been suggested we should keep giving children the measles vaccine even if measles is eliminated.
It would be too good to be true if all vaccines trained our immune system in this way. There is evidence a few vaccines have the opposite effect. But this doesn't mean they don't still save lives.
The key question is whether you are better off getting vaccinated than not. All too often the focus is entirely on very rare or entirely imaginary adverse effects of vaccines instead of on the risks of infections or the wider benefits of the vaccine.
I have no doubts that will make me better off. I'll be getting my shingles vaccine and a flu jab every year and the RSV vaccine when it's offered , at the very least.
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