I had a mild bout of shingles early in February. I contacted the doctor (over the phone due to covid rules in Ontario) scanned photos of the rash. A shingles antiviral was prescribed. Best to start within first 24 to 72 hours from onset. The first week was the worst. The horrid itching and pain would start around 11pm like clockwork and or wake me up. It was uncomfortable lying on my back and I got awful muscle pain all around the back area where the rash was. It was very bad and made it difficult to sit comfortably in the car. I thought I had somehow pulled a muscle or bruised a rib. I am so glad this was a mild case. The antivirals helped. After one month it was pretty much over.
I had had the first shingles vaccine that came out some years ago but not Zostavax.
Just something that entered my mind . I had my third covid vaccine on Dec.27 and shingles on Feb3. Wonder if any connection.
On the other hand, it was a stressful time so maybe the stress.