There’s a new shingles shot called HZ/su that works almost just as well for everyone over 50—whether they’re 50 or 80—while the old one, Zostavax, gets much less effective the older you are.

If you're 50 or older and your immune system is healthy, getting two shots of this special shingles vaccine, two months apart, cuts your chance of getting shingles by almost all the way down—like going from a 10% risk to less than 0.3%.

The shingles vaccine called HZ/su doesn’t make you more likely to have serious health problems, autoimmune issues, or die compared to getting a fake shot — even after tracking people for over three years.

This vaccine uses a special booster ingredient called AS01B to help older people’s weakened immune systems still recognize and fight the shingles virus really well, no matter how old they are.

If you're 65 or older, getting the newer shingles shot (recombinant vaccine) cuts your chance of getting shingles by about a third over six years compared to the older shot, and it works just as well for men and women.

Older adults who got the shingles vaccine (Zostavax) were a bit less likely to develop dementia over the next seven years—about 1 in 5 fewer cases—so scientists wonder if the vaccine might help protect the brain, too.