Shingles vaccination programme 2019-2020 published

The Scottish Government has published details of the shingles (herpes zoster) vaccination programme 2019-2020. 

The shingles vaccination programme was introduced in Scotland in 2013, with routine vaccination of people aged 70 and a year-by-year catch-up for those aged 71-79 initiated. The final catch-up group was offered the shingles vaccine in 2018-2019. This year, eligibility for the 2019-2020 programme is as follows: 

• routine vaccination of 70 year-olds (defined by the patient’s age at 1 September 2019) 
• opportunistic vaccination of 71-79 year-olds who have not previously been vaccinated (defined by the patient’s age at 1 September 2019) 
• vaccination should not be offered to anyone aged 80 and over, even if they have previously been eligible

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) has published a screening tool, which can be used to aid identification of patients who are contra-indicated for the shingles vaccine. The questions in the screening tool are designed for completion either by the patient, or by the healthcare practitioner, in a structured interview with the patient. Explanatory notes for healthcare practitioners are also included. The screening tool is designed to help practitioners identify patients who may be contra-indicated for shingles vaccine and does not replace clinical judgement.

In addition, NHS Health Scotland has shingles vaccination resources for general practices which include: 

• a template shingles letter, which can be adapted and used to invite eligible patients into the practice for the shingles vaccine 
• a shingles screen saver

Further information about shingles, including vaccine uptake, can be found on the HPS website. Public-facing materials are also available on NHS Inform and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) host material for healthcare practitioners. 

Source: Scottish Government, 26 August 2019