The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel has given tentative approval to a new vaccine, Zostavax, designed to prevent shingles in people 60 and older, saying it appears to be safe and effective for this age group. The panel has forwarded its recommendation to the FDA, which now has to decide whether to give final approval. The FDA usually follows its advisory panel recommendation.

Shingles is a painful reoccurrence of the chicken pox virus, which develops in one million older people each year. Half of all people who reach the age of 85 experience the disease. For many, shingles is temporary, and a relatively mild problem, but about 12 percent of people affected develop long-lasting and often devastating nerve pain called postherpetic neuralgia.

The new vaccine is a preventative; it will not help people already affected by shingles. Anyone who had chicken pox is encouraged to talk to their doctor about taking the new drug if it is finally approved.