Research and analysis

HPR volume 8 issue 35: news

Updated 23 December 2014

1. Shingles vaccination programme enters second year

The second year of the shingles vaccination programme in England began on 1 September 2014, a good coverage having been achieved during the first year of the programme which ended on 31 August. As at end-July 2014, approximately 60 per cent of 70 year-olds and 58 per cent of 79 year-olds had been vaccinated, a significant achievement in view of the several other additions and changes made to the national immunisation schedule during the same period.

Details of the 2014/15 programme are outlined in a tripartite letter published on 20 August [1]. The Green Book chapter and other training resources for health professionals have been updated and will shortly to be published on the Shingles: Guidance and Vaccination Programme pages of the PHE website [2].

The second year of the programme covers those aged 70, 78 or 79 years on 1 September 2014. Those who have reached their 80th birthday on that date are no longer eligible for the vaccination, in line with the reducing efficacy of the vaccine as age increases. An eligibility calculator is available to help patients and health professionals check whether a patient is eligible for vaccination in the 2014/15 programme. An updated Patient Information Leaflet is also available [2].

Final corrected vaccine uptake figures for the 2013/14 programme will be published in HPR later this year. A report on coverage during the first eight months was published in June [3].

1.1 References

1. “Shingles immunisation programme from 1 September 2014”, DH/NHS England/PHE, 20 August 2014.

2. “Shingles: Guidance and Vaccination Programme”, PHE website.

3. “Herpes zoster (shingles) immunisation programme 2013 to 2014: cumulative coverage data (provisional) for England to end-April 2014”, HPR 8(21), 30 May 2014.