Significant changes to the routine shingles vaccination programme were introduced in 2023.
- The non-live shingles vaccine, administered in two doses, was introduced for all eligible patients.
- A phased plan of eligibility expansion commenced to lower the eligibility age from 70 to 60 by 2033.
The phased implementation works in the following way:
- Each programme year runs from 01 September – 31 August.
- Eligibility is determined by a patient’s age on 01 September of the programme year:
- From 2023 to 2028: eligible ages are 65 and 70.
- From 2029 to 2033: eligible ages are 60 and 65.
Those eligible are sent an invitation letter by Health and Social Care Partnership Vaccination Teams – please see details of booking options.
For the programme year commencing 01 September 2024 the following groups are eligible for shingles vaccination in Scotland:
- People aged 65 or 66 on 01 September 2024.
- People aged 70 or over on 01 September 2024 until their 80th birthday.
- People aged 50 or over with a severely weakened immune system.
- People about to start immunosuppressive therapy.
- People aged 18 or over who have received a stem cell transplant or CAR-T therapy within the last 2 years. (For those who have recently had a stem cell transplant, 6 months should elapse before taking the shingles vaccine.)
People who were aged 66-69 on 01 September 2023 will become eligible for the vaccination from the 01 September after their 70th birthday.
Please note that the routine vaccination of shingles programme is de-prioritised during the delivery of the flu / COVID-19 programmes.
More information about the routine shingles programme can be found on NHS Inform.
Please also see advice about investigating recurrent shingles – the Green Book advises advising considering whether the patient has an underlying immune deficiency to account for this.
C.M & K.McL 03-01-25
