Merck Sees Shingles Vaccine Injury Lawsuit Dismissals Upheld

Nearly 1,200 consolidated lawsuits alleging Merck & Co. Inc.‘s shingles vaccine, Zostavax, caused patients to develop the viral disease were properly dismissed after the plaintiffs failed to establish causation, a federal appeals court said Tuesday.

The plaintiffs argued that a 2022 court order directing them to produce medical tests showing their shingles injuries were caused by the vaccine rather than the dormant chicken pox virus in their bodies was improper. They said the order was based on the wrong assumption that a polymerase chain reaction assay, or PCR test, was the only way to establish a viable plan to ...