And... A Nicely Comprehensive Run-Down, On All The Merck Zostavax® Litigation Matters...

For about seven years (and ending about five years ago), in the early parts of the last decade, I kept close track of all Merck products liability litigation, as part of some other responsibilities. But, as the crisis-after-crisis, and serial threats to our democracy emerged, early on -- in a Tangerine-hued mal-administration. . . I decided to focus those energies on a more immediate issue. So I completely stopped writing a narrative -- of/on the pharma products liability arc.

It is with pleasure, though, that I can commend this fine, and balanced, piece of journalism, to the readership. It catches us up, to this very morning, on all things Zostavax^® (despite the so called "vaccine shield" statutes). Do go read it all -- at Endpoints News:

. . .Merck’s advertising campaigns included a wide range of appeals. In an unbranded Merck-sponsored TV campaign, former NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw goes door-to-door surprising people and talking about the surprise of shingles. The affable spokesman uses humor – “Me too, move over” he says as he piles on the couch with the others who’ve had chicken pox – to emphasize the painful disease. He jokingly threatens to make the neighbors watch 12-hour highlights of his football career, adding, “I know, talk about pain. Seriously now, talk to your doctor or pharmacist today about a vaccine that can help prevent shingles.”

A second branded campaign that ran in 2016 and 2017 was more ominous, with a TV commercial warning that shingles is “lurking inside.” A narrator speaks as the voice shingles, saying: “I’ve been lurking inside you since you had chicken pox. I could surface anytime as a painful, blistering rash. One in three people get me in their lifetime, Linda, will it be you?”

However, the marketing and advertising ended – along with the vaccine’s use – not long after GlaxoSmithKline debuted its Shingrix vaccine in 2017 with higher efficacy (97% versus Zostavax at around 50%) and longer lasting effectiveness. Shingrix quickly became the preferred vaccine, and Zostavax officially became unavailable in the US in November 2020. . . .

Now you know. Onward, grinning. . . ever grinning. . . with big changes ahead. . . .

नमस्ते