Shingles is a herpes virus and monkey pox is an orthopox virus. The actual viruses are distinct but the symptoms appear similar. Shingles remains in the body dormant after chicken pox infection, but emerges when the immune system is impaired or weakened. So the cases being advertised as monkey pox may indeed be shingles infection in vaccinated people. The key to identifying shingles is the vesicles follow the lines of the dermatomes, whereas monkeypox lesions will probably be more random or generalized.