A literature review was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus (HZO) using peer-reviewed publications in the National Library of Medicine. Snyder et al. analyzed the incidence of Herpes Zoster (HZ) and Herpes Zoster Ophthalmicus (HZO) in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic from 2018 to 2021 [1]. Their study included 16,287 HZ cases, with 7.94% presenting with HZO. Despite a yearly decrease of 5.3% in HZ incidence, HZO incidence increased by 5.6% annually. Post-COVID, the average HZO incidence was significantly higher than pre-COVID. Their results suggested a distinct mechanism for HZO appearance, potentially accelerated by the pandemic [1].

1,959,157 patients who met the eligibility criteria were administered a COVID-19 vaccine [2]. The analysis included 80 individuals who, despite having no previous history of HZO, developed the condition in the risk or control period. The average age of these patients was 54.0 years, with a standard deviation of 12.3 years. Post COVID-19 vaccination, 45 instances of HZO were reported in the risk interval [2].