Getting the shingles vaccine doesn’t make people more likely to die or get sick from other reasons, so if some studies link it to dementia, it’s probably not because vaccinated people are sicker overall or getting more medical checkups.

This study found that people who got the new shingles vaccine were less likely to get dementia, and this wasn’t just because they were healthier overall—since other vaccines didn’t have the same effect. So, the vaccine seems to be specifically linked to lower dementia risk, not just random health luck.