Getting the shingles shot might lower your risk of a type of dementia caused by blood vessel problems in the brain more than it lowers your risk of Alzheimer’s, which is caused by brain plaques — so it might be helping your brain’s blood flow more than it’s cleaning up gunk.

People in Wales aged 70 and older who got the shingles shot were 28% less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the next six years — but that doesn’t mean the vaccine prevents dementia, just that the two seem to be linked in some way.

Getting the shingles shot might help lower your risk of dementia—even if you still get shingles afterward—suggesting the vaccine protects your brain in ways beyond just preventing the rash.

People in their late 70s who got the shingles shot were 20% less likely to develop dementia over the next seven years compared to those who didn’t get it — that’s about 3.5 fewer cases of dementia per 100 people.

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.

Getting the shingles shot might help keep your memory sharper for a little while—especially in the first year after you get it—but that benefit slowly fades over six years, like a temporary shield against dementia, not a permanent fix.