Shingles Vaccinations

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 2025 the following groups are eligible for shingles vaccination in Scotland:

• People aged 65, 66 or 67 on 01 September 2025.
• People aged 70 or over on 01 September 2025 until their 80th birthday.
• People aged 18 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 are aged 18 or over who have previously received the Zostavax Shingles Vaccine and have since been identified as having a severely weakened immune system will now be invited for further two doses of the recommended Shingrix shingles vaccine. This will offer the best level of protection and further reduce the risk of developing shingles.

People who were aged 66-69 on 01 September 2023 will become eligible for the vaccination from the 01 September after their 70^th 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 15-09-25