Shingles vaccine lowers heart attack and stroke danger
The shingles vaccine reduces the risk of a heart attack or stroke for up to eight years.
Those given a jab to protect themselves against the painful rash illness had a 23 per cent lower risk of potentially fatal cardiovascular events.
The protective effect was particularly noticeable in men, people under the age of 60 and those with poor health habits such as smoking.
It was at its most prominent in the first two years after the injection but the impact lasted up to eight years afterwards.
Professor Dong Keon Yon, study leader at Kyung Hee University College of Medicine in South Korea, said: "There are several reasons why the shingles vaccine may help reduce heart disease.
"A shingles infection can cause blood vessel damage, inflammation and clot formation that can lead to heart disease.
"By preventing shingles, vaccination may lower these risks.
"However, as this study is based on an Asian cohort, the results may not apply to all populations.
"This is one of the largest and most comprehensive studies following a healthy general population over a period of up to 12 years."
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Vietnam has abolished its long-standing two-child limit to try and reverse declining birth rates and ease the pressures of an aging population. The National Assembly passed amendments scrapping rules that limit families to having one or two children, state media Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday. The rules were usually stricter for Communist Party members, who could miss out on promotions or bonuses if they had a third child. Vietnamese families are having fewer children than ever before. The birth rate in 2021 was 2.11 children per woman, just over the replacement rate required for a population to avoid shrinking over the long term. Since then, the birth rate has steadily declined: to 2.01 in 2022, 1.96 in 2023 and 1.91 in 2024. Vietnam is not the only Asian country with low fertility. But - unlike Japan, South Korea or Singapore - it is still a developing economy. 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All of this could make it harder to grow the economy, since there will be fewer workers while the cost of supporting the needs of the elderly increases. Birth rates in Vietnam are not falling evenly. In Ho Chi Minh City - the country's biggest city and economic hub - the fertility rate in 2024 was just 1.39 children per woman, much lower than the national average. At the same time, nearly 12 per cent of the city's population was over 60, putting pressure on welfare services. To help, local officials started offering about $A185 to women who have two children before turning 35 last December. It also offers some of the most generous family benefits in the region, including six months of fully paid maternity leave and free healthcare for children under six. Tuition in government schools is free until the age of 15 years and, starting in September it will be free until the end of high school. Vietnam is also dealing with a unbalanced gender ratio, partly due to long-standing preferences for sons. According to state media, the distortion is more concentrated in Vietnam's northern Red River delta, which includes Hanoi. Doctors are not allowed to tell parents the baby's sex before birth, and sex-selective abortions are banned. But despite this, some still hint at the baby's gender using coded language, said state media VN Express, citing a government report. On Tuesday, the health ministry proposed tripling the fine for choosing a baby's sex before birth to $A5,900, state media reported. China imposed a one-child policy in 1979 amid worries about overpopulation. But as the country faces growing concerns about the long-term economic and societal challenges of an aging population, it has been slowly easing the policy to allow a second child and then a third child in 2021, but with little success in boosting birthrates.
