Shingles Vaccinations

 

A vaccine to prevent shingles, a common, painful skin disease is now available on the NHS to people in their 70s.  If you are eligible for a vaccine, we will write and inform you.

 

The shingles vaccine is given as a single injection for anyone aged 70 or 79. Unlike the flu jab, you'll only need to have the vaccination once.

 

The vaccine is expected to reduce your risk of getting shingles. If you are unlucky enough to go on to have the disease, your symptoms may be milder and the illness shorter.

 

Shingles can be very painful and uncomfortable. Some people are left with pain lasting for years after the initial rash has healed. And shingles is fatal for around 1 in 1,000 over-70s who develop it.

 

What is Shingles?

 

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful skin rash caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus (varicella-zoster virus) in people who have previously had chickenpox.

 

It begins with a burning sensation in the skin, followed by a rash of very painful fluid-filled blisters that can then burst and turn into sores before healing. Often an area on just one side of the body is affected, usually the chest but sometimes the head, face and eye.

 

Read more about the symptoms of shingles.

 

 

Who Can Have The Shingles Vaccination?

 

Shingles vaccination is offered routinely as part of the NHS vaccination programme for people aged 70 or 79. The first people to have the vaccine will be those aged 70 or 79 on September 1 2013.

 

If you were aged 70 or 79 on September 1 2013 but become 71 or 80 before attending for vaccination, you will still be able to have the shingles vaccine.

 

If you are aged 71 to 78 on September 1 2013, your next opportunity to have the shingles vaccine will be after you have reached the age of 79.

 

The brand name of the shingles vaccine given in the UK is Zostavax.

 

Read more about who can have the shingles vaccine.

 

 

How Does The Shingles Vaccine Work?

 

The vaccine contains a weakened chickenpox virus (varicella-zoster virus). It's similar, but not identical to, the chickenpox vaccine.

 

Very occasionally, people have developed a chickenpox-like illness following shingles vaccination (fewer than 1 in 10,000 individuals).

 

 

How Long Will The Shingles Vaccine Protect Me For?

 

It's difficult to be precise, but research to date suggests the shingles vaccine will protect you for at least three years, probably longer.

 

 

How Safe Is The Shingles Vaccine?

 

There is lots of evidence showing that the new shingles vaccine is very safe. It's already been used in several countries, including the US and Canada, and no safety concerns have been raised. The vaccine also has few side effects. Read more about shingles vaccine side effects.

 

 

How Is Shingles Spread?

 

You don't "catch" shingles – it comes on when there's a reawakening of chickenpox virus that's already in your body. The virus can be reactivated because of advancing age, medication, illness or stress and so on.

 

Anyone who has had chickenpox can get shingles. It's estimated that around one in five people who have had chickenpox go on to develop shingles.

 

Read more about the causes of shingles.

 

People tend to get shingles more often as they get older, especially over the age of 70. And the older you are, the worse it can be. The shingles rash can be extremely painful, such that sufferers can't even bear the feeling of their clothes touching the affected skin.

 

The pain of shingles can also linger long after the rash has disappeared, even for many years. This lingering pain is called Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN).

 

Read more about the complications of shingles.

 

Read the answers to some of the common questions about the shingles vaccine.