The State’s health watchdog has recommended against adding a shingles vaccine to the routine immunisation schedule for adults.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) says the shingles vaccine, though effective, would not be a good use of resources at its current price.
The vaccines costs €151 per dose but Hiqa says the cost would need to fall to less than €30 for vaccination at age 75 and age 80 to be cost effective.
Shingles, a viral infection caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, causes a painful, blister-like rash. For most people, symptoms clear up within a month, but some can continue to experience pain for months and years.
Vaccines are available in Ireland, but only privately. Most cases occur in over-50s and immunocompromised people.
The five-year budget cost of a shingles vaccination programme for adults aged 50 and over, assuming 50 per cent coverage, ranged from €15.1 million with vaccination at 85 year to €76.8 million with vaccination at 50 years.
The budget for immunisation immunocompromised people, assuming 100 per cent coverage, was estimated at €56.4 million over five years.
Shingles vaccination is publicly funded in five EU states, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, generally from age 65.
Hiqa has launched a public consultation on its assessment of the shingles vaccine, with submissions due by the end of this month. Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly will make the final decision on the issue.
“Our assessment found that the shingles vaccine is safe and effective, but the benefit of the vaccine decreases over time,” according to Dr Conor Teljeur, Hiqa’s chief scientist. “However, at the current vaccine price, adding shingles vaccination to the routine immunisation schedule for the general population aged 50 years and older would not be a good use of HSE resources.”
An average of 285 patients with shingles were hospitalised each year between 2013 and 2022, public data shows. There were 54 deaths linked to shingles, 85 per cent of them in people aged 75 years and older.
People can only get shingles if they have already had chickenpox. Three out of every 10 people who have had chickenpox will go on to have shingles at some point in their life.
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