From 1 November many older Australians will be able to receive the herpes zoster vaccine, Zostavax, for free
From 1 November many older Australians will be able to receive the herpes zoster vaccine, Zostavax, for free.
Zostavax, which protects against shingles, is available to eligible Australians aged between 70 and 79, with around 20,000 Australians in that age group affected each year.
“As the incidence and severity of shingles increases with age, being able to help reduce the risk of shingles, and its resulting complications, is an important step forward,” said Professor Dominic Dwyer, clinical professor at the Western Clinical School at the University of Sydney.
Zostavax is a live attenuated vaccine that is administered subcutaneously in a single dose.
The vaccine should be reconstituted and administered immediately after removal from the fridge and discarded if not used within 30 minutes.
Vaccination should be deferred for patients with a fever over 38.5°C.
The vaccine is well tolerated but side effects include headache, erythema, pain or tenderness, swelling, pruritus, fatigue, haematoma, warmth and induration.
Inactivated influenza vaccine can be administered at the same time, but Pneumovax 23 and Zostavax injections must be separated by four weeks.
A US study showed that Zostavax reduced the risk of shingles in people over 60 by 51% and the risk of postherpetic neuralgia by 67%.
Likelihood of protection against shingles increased 65.5% in people aged 60-69 who received the vaccine and 55.4% in people aged 70 and over.
