What is VZIg?
VZIg is Varicella-Zoster Immune Globulin.
The varicella-zoster virus causes chicken-pox (varicella) and shingles (herpes-zoster). VZIg is used primarily for patients at high risk for severe disease who have been very recently exposed to the varicella-zoster virus and who also are not eligible for the chicken-pox vaccine.
An example of a person who might receive VZIg is a newborn whose mother had chicken pox at the time of delivery.
VZIg is not the same thing as either the chicken-pox vaccine or the shingles vaccine.
Can a patient who is one of Jehovah's Witnesses accept the use of an immune globulin such as Varicella-Zoster Immune Globulin?
Immune globulins are considered by Jehovah's Witnesses to be 'blood fractions' Therefore the decision to accept this product is left up to the individual to decide.
