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The PHA says don\u2019t miss the opportunity to help protect yourself against shingles(Image: Peter Byrne\/PA Wire)<\/p>\nFrom September people aged 18+ with a severely weakened immune system will be eligibleThe PHA says don\u2019t miss the opportunity to help protect yourself against shingles(Image: Peter Byrne\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n
Plans have been announced to expand the roll out of the shingles vaccination programme from this September, providing protection against what can be an extremely painful condition with complications that can be long-lasting.<\/p>\n
Currently the vaccine is available in Northern Ireland<\/a> to those who are aged 65 and 70 on 1 September in addition to people aged 50 and over with a severely weakened immune system.<\/p>\n But from 1 September 2025, anyone who is aged 18 and over with a severely weakened immune system (sometimes known as severely immunosuppressed) will be able to get two doses of the Shingrix vaccine, the Public Health Agency<\/a> (PHA) has announced.<\/p>\n READ MORE: NI driving instructor on why eye tests and assessments on older drivers are “common sense”<\/a>READ MORE: Co Antrim mum calls for mental health care reform after son’s death<\/a><\/p>\n The change comes on the back of the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommending that the Shingrix vaccine should be extended to a wider cohort of people<\/a>, after trials showed the vaccine was highly effective and safe for these groups.<\/p>\n Rachel Spiers, Immunisation and Vaccination Programme Manager at the PHA, said: \u201cShingles can occur at any age, but the risk and severity of shingles and its complications increase with age and is higher in individuals who have a severely weakened immune system<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cShingles cannot be caught from other people. Instead, it develops in people who have previously been infected with chickenpox at any point in their lifetime. Shingles is caused by the virus \u201creawakening\u201d in your body \u2013 it is typically reactivated in older age, or by certain medicines, illness or stress.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first signs of shingles may be pain or tingling in an area of skin followed by a rash. The rash can be extremely painful and the pain can remain for many years after the rash has disappeared, however the vaccine can significantly reduce the risk of people developing shingles and experiencing nasty symptoms. It is therefore vital that anyone eligible, even if you think you may not be at risk, gets the vaccine.\u201d<\/p>\n Two doses of vaccine are highly effective in reducing your risk of getting shingles, or if you do develop shingles, reducing the severity of your symptoms.<\/p>\n Who is eligible for the vaccine?<\/strong><\/p>\n Your GP should contact you and invite you for vaccination if you are:<\/p>\n Like most vaccinations, the vaccine will be given as an injection in your upper arm. You will need two doses, usually at least six months apart. If you have a weakened immune system, then your second dose should be at least two months after your first dose. Speak to your GP or practice nurse for more information.<\/p>\n If you missed the shingles vaccine, you can still have it up to your 80th birthday. If you think you are eligible and have not yet received a vaccination, please contact your GP practice to ask about getting vaccinated. It\u2019s important that you do not leave it too late to have the vaccination.<\/p>\n For further information see www.pha.site\/shingles<\/a>.<\/p>\n For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here<\/a> and sign up to our daily newsletter<\/a> here.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From September people aged 18+ with a severely weakened immune system will be eligibleThe PHA says don\u2019t miss…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[105,1144,457,85199,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-380689","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-northern-ireland","10":"tag-people","11":"tag-public-health-agency","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115107516188653165","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n