In a notice published on March 7, the health authority recommends vaccinating adults over 65 and immunocompromised people with the Shingrix formula.
![Shingles: a new vaccine\](https://www.pourquoidocteur.fr/media/article/COPY_istock-679524826-1709908626.jpg "Shingles: a new vaccine\")
- The High Authority of Health (HAS) recommends vaccinating seniors and immunocompromised patients with the Shingrix vaccine from the GSK laboratory.
- The latter “includes two doses, which must be administered two months apart.”
- It prevents the appearance of shingles in 79.3% of vaccinated people and reduces post-herpetic pain by 87%.
After age 50, shingles is more common. It is a viral infectious disease of the skin and mucous membranes. It is caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus of the herpesvirus family, which causes chickenpox. That “can occur when the immune system is weakened due to, for example, illness, treatment (such as chemotherapy) or age.” This pathology can cause persistent neuropathic pain called “post-herpetic”.
To prevent shingles and reduce its complications, vaccination is recommended for people aged 65 to 74, including those who have already had one or more episodes of shingles. “A single dose of vaccine is enough”, specifies Health Insurance. Until now, the vaccine administered was Zostavax developed by the MSD laboratory. This decision was taken by the High Council of Public Health in 2013. Recently, the High Authority of Health (HAS) was contacted by the General Directorate of Health in order to update this strategy.
New vaccine prevents shingles in 79.3% of vaccinated people
At the end of its analysis, the health authority recommends vaccinating immunocompromised people aged 18 and over and all adults aged 65 and over with the Shingrix vaccine from the GSK laboratory. The latter had obtained marketing authorization in adults aged 50 and over in 2018. Two years later, the authorization was extended to patients over 18 with an increased risk of shingles. “The Shingrix primary vaccination schedule consists of two doses, which should be administered two months apart (up to six months if necessary),” can we read in the press release.
According to data analyzed by HAS, the Shingrix vaccine is more effective than the Zostavax vaccine. It would prevent the appearance of shingles in 79.3% of vaccinated people, compared to 45.9% for Zostavax. The effectiveness of the new treatment is also much higher in reducing post-herpetic pain (87%) than that of the Zostavax vaccine (66%). Another observation: it has shown its effectiveness in immunocompromised patients.
Shingles: Shingrix vaccine can be administered at the same time as other vaccines
“By proposing the vaccination of adults aged 65 and over against shingles, the HAS is choosing a simple and readable vaccination schedule, a necessary condition for improving vaccination coverage. Other vaccinations are in fact recommended for people in this age group: booster against diphtheria, tetanus and poliomyelitis at age 65 then every 10 years from age 65, annual vaccination against influenza and against Covid-19 for people aged 65 and over more. The Shingrix vaccine can be administered at the same time as these vaccines, at a different injection site,” concluded the health authority.
