Shingles Vaccine

[Rose54]

Shingles Vaccine

From September 2023 you will be eligible for vaccine from age 65.

Advertised on TV yesterday

Rose

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Has been discussed - and this is in FAQs - but it's England NHS, so not necessarily everywhere - people need to check with their local health authority.

england.nhs.uk/2023/07/nhs-...

[Rose54 in reply to DorsetLady]

Sorry tried to post last night but had problems trying to do on phone and lost the post .

I did a quick short post today

Thanks for link as must of missed it

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Rose54]

No need to apologise - think it was probably in a reply to another post - and it’s not always easy to locate.

[Thelmarina in reply to DorsetLady]

Thanks so much. Very useful as I’ve been thinking about shingles recently! I know - my life is full 😂

[piglette]

These are the new government guidelines. It looks like they are trying to phase out the live Zostavax vaccine, I reckon they will try and clear out the old Zostavax vaccine on the unsuspecting though. Like the US, in the future Shingrix will be the only vaccine available eventually. I am not sure what is happening to the over 80s in the future.

gov.uk/government/publicati...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to piglette]

I think they are just using up stocks - according to a NZ site it is no longer made.

It is hardly surprising when you read claims like this

"One side effect of Zostavax that cannot be ignored is the potential to cause death, which is why it was ultimately discontinued. Other side effects it can cause are blindness, chickenpox, nerve damage, and paralysis"

though to be fair, I bet the authors have made money out of making claims for people! It has also been shown it loses effectiveness after 5 years.

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

Interesting it is no longer made. I think the U.S. reaction may have had an effect. It was quite frightening to read about the side effects. Also for over 80 year olds it was basically not much use anyway. Of course it is my old friends Merck who make Zostavax I believe!!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to piglette]

Once the USA stopped using it in 2020 it can't have been particularly economic - and certainly not once Shingrix got their act in gear. Europe only kept using it because there wasn't enough Shingrix to be made available for all publicly funded healthcare systems at once.

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

May be worth buying shares in GSK now though! I wonder if the NHS will offer the Shingrix version to the over 80s.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to piglette]

Does it work for them? They just give figures for over 70s - but far far better than the Zostavax.

thegrandhealthcare.com/new-...

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

At least it doesn’t kill you!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to piglette]

We hope!!

[Pandora2 in reply to PMRpro]

So do I, just had my first dose. I’m 80 but my GPS kept missing me out so after several annoyed and insistent enquiries they deigned to allow me my first dose to be followed by second dose in eight weeks time. I’m getting quite despondent about all things NHS. Thank God for this forum, I don’t always feel well enough to fight the powers that be. Many thanks and much respect to you all. X

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to piglette]

This is what it says -

Those that become eligible but do not take up the vaccine offer immediately remain eligible until their 80th birthday. Individuals who were eligible for Zostavax® should continue to receive Zostavax® until central stocks deplete (via ImmForm), after which time they should receive Shingrix®. The 80th birthday upper age cut off remains in place for the immunocompetent cohort regardless of vaccine offered.

[piglette in reply to DorsetLady]

That is interesting, thanks. They found that the vaccine was only 18% effective at the age of 80.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to piglette]

That's Zostavax though isn't it - wonder if there are any comparable figures for Shingrix?

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

It will be interesting.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to piglette]

Only 18% ? No point in offering it then really….☹️..probably not enough info on Shingrix as yet….

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to DorsetLady]

That's why they don't. And I imagine they will claim that current over 80s had their chance when they were in their 70s

[LikesKnitSewGarden in reply to piglette]

Hi which shingles vaccine is best if you have PMR

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to LikesKnitSewGarden]

Shingrix, the nonlive one. It is the only option in the USA already and from September will be the only option in the UK

[LikesKnitSewGarden in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you .

[Daniella7 in reply to LikesKnitSewGarden]

I had a Shingles vaccine in the UK in March 2022 and three weeks later I woke up with PMR. Was this a coincidence?

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Daniella7]

Not necessarily - especially if it was the Zostavax version… but probably the last in long line of assaults on your immune system.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Daniella7]

It was a Zostavax jab I assume by the date? No, probably not coincidence, it is listed as a potential adverse effect.

[Daniella7 in reply to PMRpro]

I’m in the uk.I’ve looked on my medical profile but there is no record of my having the Shingles vaccine but I know I saw a nurse specifically to receive it! All my Covid vaccines have been recorded. Strange. It’s in my diary too but I don’t k ow which vaccine it was. Interesting. I had read somewhere that the Shingles vaccine could trigger PMR but didn’t know which one.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Daniella7]

If it was an NHS GP who did it, it was Zostavax. Shingrix hasn't been available on the NHS so your bank balance would know - privately it was about £450 for the two jabs it requires.

[Daniella7 in reply to PMRpro]

It was on the NHS. 11.30am on 7 March at my local Medical Centre. There were adverts on TV urging all over 70s to be vaccinated so I thought I ought to receive it! Perhaps I should question why it’s not recorded!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Daniella7]

I would be asking - what else isn't recorded??????

[Daniella7 in reply to PMRpro]

It looks like it is the only item not recorded since 2015 which is as far back as it goes on my accessible record. I have emailed the GP Practice querying it. Interestingly I was placed on Fluoexetine in the February for depression which gave me really bad side effects so I didn’t take it for long. I did seem ok though then til PMR hit!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Daniella7]

Possibly a transfer error ...

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Daniella7]

Most definitely….

[LoubieLou70]

You will actually be eligible from 50 if immunocomprimised from September in England

[Ruins67]

That’s great. I didn’t know it. I had it bad seven years ago and it was atypical. It wasn’t just down one side of my body which is what it supposed to be. It wasn’t till half my tongue swelled up that I got the anti-viral medicine and it knocked it on the head. Tapering down from prednisolone. I had a mild attack of it a couple of months ago. So I shall definitely see about getting this vaccine.

[CraftyE]

Can you have the vaccine if you've had shingles already? I had it 2 years ago, a mild case but horrible all the same. And if we have PMR/ GCS or in remission from it, does that count as being immunocompromised? Thank you.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to CraftyE]

1. How soon after recovering from shingles can you get Shingrix?

If you had shingles in the past, Shingrix can help prevent future occurrences of the disease. There is no specific length of time that you need to wait after having shingles before you can receive Shingrix, but generally you should make sure the shingles rash has gone away before getting vaccinated.

2.Immunocompetent cohort [Being immunocompetent means that the immune system is working properly and that the body is capable of mounting an appropriate immune response, when necessary

Summary table of implementation stages for immunocompetent patients

Implementation stages, Delivery period and when Eligible for first dose

Stage 1 (5 year duration) 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2028 Those who reach age 65 or 70 years during this period should be called in on or after their 65th or 70th birthday

Stage 2 (5 year duration) 1 September 2028 to 31 August 2033 Those who reach age 60 or 65 years during this period should be called in on or after their 60th or 65th birthday [footnote 1]

Ongoing routine offer 1 September 2033 onwards

Full details here -

gov.uk/government/publicati...

[PMR_sufferer1 in reply to CraftyE]

My doctor said at least 6 months after having shingles should you consider the vaccine.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to CraftyE]

You only get chicken pox once - you can develop shingles several times so yes, you need the jab, probably more if you have had shingles as it shows a propensity to develop it.

[Nagswoman]

Is the shingles vaccine an annual thing? Does a person need it if they had shingles when they were 24, 43 years ago? Is Shingrix live or not? Ta.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Nagswoman]

Shingrix isn't live which is why it is recommended for us. It is a one-off double vaccination, a first jab and a second one 2 to 6 months later. All the details are in the FAQs.

The older you are, the more likely it is you could develop shingles again - you don't develop any immunity to it reappearing without the jab.

[HeronNS in reply to Nagswoman]

Shingrix may well turn out to give permanent protection as it is still effective after ten years. This must be based on the trials because I don't think it's been publicly available as long as 10 years yet, seems to have been approved in Canada and US in 2017.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to HeronNS]

gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-r...

It was approved by the FDA in 2017 - so trials must have started at least 3 years earlier and as far as I can tell, they had followed subjects for up to 4,5 years before applying for approval.

[HeronNS in reply to PMRpro]

This was one time Canada was ahead of the US, by a few days!

[HeronNS]

Regarding age eligibilty for Shingrix, all I can find is all adults over 50, with apparently no upper limit on age. Reassurance that even those who've had Zostavax can have Shingrix, which maintains its effectiveness much better than Zostavax and is therefore particularly useful in the aged. So if there are any age limitations that will probably be due to financial considerations, apparently no medical contraindication.

So far Shingrix appears to maintain protection against shingles for ten years, and counting.

[kewl1]

In Canada they gave us the Zostravax for free and many including me still got shingles. Mine was extremely mild, just a 4 x 4 inch rash with no blisters. But others like my sister got it bad, one friend right almost in his eye and even had to see an Opthamologist. I think it was about 56% effective. Now we have Shingrix but we have to pay for it out of pocket unles we are a certain age group. My wife was free but I had to pay because I'm 1.5 years older and was outside of the free window. Crazy. But from the suffereing I have seen some people go through it is well worth the price. Most of my life I never new or even knew of anyone getting shingles but now it is getting very common and a gal I know who got it 5 or 6 times in her 40's said that the doctors told her that it has something to do with the kids not getting chicken pox anymore. I don't undrstand it but that's what she said.

[AilsaB in reply to kewl1]

Do I still get the vaccine if I had shingles as a kid? yes, I know, you dont get shingles as a kid, but I did?????

[kewl1 in reply to AilsaB]

Wow! I have no idea or medical training. If I were to guess, if it was me, I would get it. I would say yes because I got Shingles after the Zostravax and then still got the two Shingix shots. I assume I shpuld have good immunity by now. My wife got a mild case of covid after her 4th or 5th covid shot but we still got our 6th one.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to AilsaB]

Yes - you still should get the jab. You can get it as a child - once you have had chicken pox you are at risk of developing shingles at any age, it just becomes more common as you get older. And that is partly why it is more common, people are living longer and immune systems are under more stress. You become immune to CP but you never become immune to shingles - you don't CATCH it, it develops when your immune system is weakened in some way.

[RoRee]

Thank you for letting us know . I’ll be asking for one x