Older adults who got the shingles shot seem to be less likely to develop dementia than those who got the flu shot or the whooping cough shot — and that’s probably not just because getting any vaccine is good for you.

People who got the shingles shot seem to have a lower chance of getting dementia than people who got the flu shot or the Tdap shot — and this isn’t just because healthier people tend to get more vaccines.

Older people who got the shingles shot seem to be less likely to develop dementia than those who got the flu shot or the whooping cough/tetanus/diphtheria shot — and that’s probably because the shingles vaccine itself is doing something special, not just because getting any vaccine is good for you.

Getting the shingles vaccine doesn’t seem to make older adults more likely to die or get sudden painful conditions, which suggests that if the vaccine is linked to dementia, it’s probably not because it’s causing general harm.

People 65 and older who got the newer shingles shot lived about 164 extra days without being diagnosed with dementia over six years compared to those who got the older shingles shot—suggesting the newer shot might help delay dementia, at least a little.

Getting the shingles shot might help keep your memory sharper for a little while—like pushing back dementia by a year or two—but it doesn’t stop it for good.