Shingles catch-up vaccinations extended

Patients who turned 80 during the Covid pandemic and missed their shingles vaccination as a result can still be vaccinated under the shingles catch-up programme up until the end of March.

The temporary extension applies only to a ‘very small’ cohort of patients who missed having the catch-up shingles vaccination ‘because they were shielding and who turned 80 years of age during that period’, NHS England said.

Payment will be the same as for other shingles vaccines and will be managed by local commissioners via a manual claims process.

NHS England explained in a primary care bulletin that some patients who were eligible for the shingles catch-up vaccination programme may have turned 80 years old during the pandemic and missed the opportunity to have their catch-up shingles vaccination before their birthday, either due to lockdown or because they were shielding at home.

These patients ‘can still be given shingles vaccine opportunistically unless contraindicated, up to 31 March 2021’, the bulletin explained.

As this cohort will not be included in the Shingles Patient Group Direction (PGD), a Patient Specific Direction (PSD) should be used by practices for this specific cohort of patients.

Individuals become eligible for routine vaccination against shingles when they reach 70 years of age or, for the catch-up cohort, when they are 78 or 79. All eligible individuals retain eligibility to receive the shingles vaccine until they turn 80.