On Mar. 24, 2011, Zostavax, manufactured by Merck of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent shingles. Zostavax is licensed as a one-dose vaccine for people age 60 years or older.

Zostavax is a live, attenuated vaccine, meaning it is a living organism that has been weakened and adapted to provide immunity without causing illness. Shingles affects an estimated 1 million or more individuals in the U.S. each year – almost half of those cases are among people age 60 or older, for whom zoster vaccine is recommended.