Shingles

The shingles vaccination programme has been expanded in September 2023 to protect more people at an earlier age.

Those newly eligible for a shingles vaccine include all those turning 65 and 70 from 1 September 2023 and those aged 50 and over who have a severely weakened immune system. Those aged 70-79 remain eligible for the vaccine.

One in 5 people will go on to develop shingles in their lifetime and symptoms of the disease can include blindness, hearing loss, nerve pain and in some cases, death. Shingles can occur at any age, but the risk and severity of shingles increases with age and complications are higher in individuals who have severely weakened immune systems and those who are older.

In the first five years after a shingles vaccine was introduced in England in 2013, there were 45,000 fewer GP consultations and 1,840 fewer hospitalisations for shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia, showing the overall impact of the programme in protecting the public while freeing up NHS capacity.

Please see the table to see when you will be eligible. 

Published: Sep 6, 2023