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Harrison Ford was previously announced to be a presenter at the 2025 Oscars, but following a shingles diagnosis, the Indiana Jones actor has pulled out of attending. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)

Harrison Ford will no longer present at the 2025 Oscars after reportedly being diagnosed with shingles. According to Entertainment Weekly, the 82-year-old Indiana Jones actor won’t appear at the event despite previously being announced as one of the ceremony’s presenters.

The report indicated the 1923 star is doing OK and is resting following the diagnosis, which he received on Friday. Ford reportedly dropped out of taking the stage at the 97th Academy Awards on Saturday morning.

The Oscar-nominated actor was announced as a presenter on Wednesday, joining a list of other stars including Halle Berry, Selena Gomez and Oprah Winfrey. Other celebrity presenters set to appear at the Sunday awards show include Whoopi Goldberg, Zoe Saldaña, Samuel L. Jackson, Amy Poehler, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Ana de Armas, Lily-Rose Depp, Goldie Hawn, Joe Alwyn, Sterling K. Brown, Scarlett Johansson, John Lithgow, Connie Nielsen, June Squibb, Ben Stiller and Bowen Yang.

Ford, 82, attended the 31st Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards on Feb. 23 in Los Angeles in seemingly good spirits. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)

Ford appeared last weekend at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, which were held on Feb. 23 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. He was seen playfully interrupting his Shrinking co-star Jessica Williams’ opening introduction during the broadcast.

So, what exactly is shingles? Read on to find out more.

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a viral illness caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chicken pox. If you’ve ever had the chicken pox, the virus remains inactive in your body long after you’ve healed.

Upon aging, the virus can reactivate, presenting as shingles. It typically comes in the form of a band of raised red dots that eventually develop into fluid-filled blisters. These bands of shingles can occur anywhere on the body, but most often appear on the torso, trunk or face.

A painful rash that turns into blisters occur during a shingles flare-up. (Photo via Getty Images)

The pain level of shingles can vary but should not be underestimated by any means. They also shouldn’t be considered the “adult chicken pox.”

In a 2018 interview with Yahoo Canada, Dennis Bowden, who developed shingles at 39, called the virus “the worst pain” they’ve ever experienced. Bowden compared the pain to an “intense electric shock” and said his initial outbreak that occurred on his jaw felt like a “jolt of intense pain.”

Aside from the tingling, itchy skin or burning that can occur a few days before a shingles outbreak, people experience different symptoms depending on where their band of shingles are located.

For example, if you develop shingles on your face, facial paralysis, hearing loss or even blindness can occur. In some rare instances, the brain can become inflamed, which can be potentially fatal. Experts recommend visiting your health-care provider or an urgent care clinic if you develop blisters on your face to help prevent any permanent damage to your eyesight.

Shingles (herpes zoster) rash. (Photo via Getty Images)

Aside from the blisters that tend to scab over within a few days, people with shingles can experience nausea, fever, chills, vomiting, headache and sensitivity to light.

In a 2018 interview, Dr. John Murray, an emergency physician in Ontario and B.C., told Yahoo Canada that one of the common complications of shingles is a secondary infection: “Any time there’s a break in your skin, you can get a secondary bacterial infection. People can get really sick — febrile and needing intravenous antibiotics.”

While some people may only experience shingles once, others may experience multiple shingles outbreaks over the course of their lifetime. According to experts, certain medications, a compromised immune system or stress can all contribute to a shingles flare-up.

“I’ve had patients with shingles who are older and who have had a recent death in family, the loss of a spouse; they’re under emotional or psychological stress,” Dr. Michael Curry, a Vancouver-based medical doctor, told Yahoo Canada in 2018. “I’ve seen that many times. However it [shingles] begins, we don’t fully understand, but we know that emotional or psychological stress has an impact on the physical health of the body as well.”

Although a shingles outbreak can last from three to five weeks, your health-care provider can prescribe an anti-viral medication that can help shorten the length of your illness. These anti-viral medications work best when taken at the first sign of outbreak, and can help prevent any long-term side effects of the virus, like long-term nerve pain, known as postherpetic neuralgia.

Aside from anti-virals, your health-care provider may prescribe pain medication or lotions to help ease the shingles rash itself.

An infographic explaining how shingles work. (Photo via Getty Images)

Shingles (herpes zoster) is not contagious. However, the virus that causes it — varicella-zoster — can be. Although the risk of transmission is low, a person can become infected with the varicella-zoster virus by making direct contact with the fluid inside a shingles blister.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the varicella-zoster virus can be transmitted from a person with shingles to a person who hasn’t had chicken pox before, or has never had the chicken pox vaccine. If they become infected with the varicella-zoster virus, they’ll develop the chicken pox — not shingles.

Once they then overcome chicken pox, the varicella-zoster virus will remain inactive in their bodies, which means they could later develop shingles when the virus is “reactivated” due to age, stress, compromised immune system or certain medications.

Keeping your shingles rash covered and frequently washing your hands can help prevent transmission of the varicella-zoster virus.

In Canada, there is currently only one approved shingles vaccines, Shingrix. Health Canada recommends that individuals over the age of 50 be vaccinated against shingles, even if they’ve experienced a shingles flare-up before.

You should talk to your health-care provider about which vaccine is right for you based on your personal medical history.

With files from Gail Johnson.

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