Shingles Vaccination

All people aged 70 years and over, up to the day before their 80th birthday, are eligible for the vaccine, if they have not already had one.

Shingles (also known as herpes zoster) is caused by the reactivation of an infection of a nerve and the area of skin that it serves, resulting in clusters of painful, itchy, fluid-filled blisters. These blisters can burst and turn into sores that eventually crust over and heal. These blisters usually affect an area on one side of the body, most commonly the chest but sometimes also the head, face and eye.

So shingles isn’t like other infectious diseases because you don’t catch it from someone else.

Shingles can be very painful and tends to affect people more commonly as they get older. And the older you are, the worse it can be. For some, the pain can last for many years.