The High Authority for Health (HAS) recommends vaccinating immunocompromised people and adults aged 65 and over against shingles, a viral condition of the skin and mucous membranes, preferably with a new vaccine which appears more effective, he said. -she announced, Thursday March 7, in a press release.
Shingles is due, in people who have had chickenpox, to a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus, which sometimes occurs when the immune system is weakened by an illness, treatment (such as chemotherapy) or age, for example. Its frequency and severity increase with age and its main complications are persistent neuropathic pain.
Since 2013, the recommendation in France has been to vaccinate adults aged 65 to 74 with Zostavax (from the MSD laboratory). Requested by the Ministry of Health for an update, notably due to a new vaccine, the HAS “recommends vaccination against shingles with the Shingrix vaccine for people aged 18 and over whose immune system is compromised, as well as for all people aged 65 and over, preferentially to the Zostavax vaccine”according to the press release.
A “simple and readable vaccination schedule”
According to the HAS, the Shingrix vaccine, from the GSK laboratory, is “just as safe but more effective” than Zostavax to prevent the appearance of shingles (79.3% of people vaccinated with Shingrix, compared to 45.9% with Zostavax) and to reduce post-zoster pain (87% compared to 66%). This new vaccine has also proven effective for immunocompromised people, unlike the previous one, she notes.
By proposing the vaccination of those aged 65 and over against shingles, the HAS defends a “simple and readable vaccination schedule, a necessary condition for improving vaccination coverage” seniors.
Other vaccinations are in fact recommended in this age group: booster against diphtheria, tetanus and poliomyelitis at age 65, vaccination against flu and against Covid-19 for those aged 65 and over. The Shingrix shingles vaccine can be administered at the same time as these other vaccines, said the HAS.
The Academy of Medicine was concerned, in mid-January, about the low vaccination coverage of people over 65 against four infectious diseases. “among the most severe for this age group”including shingles, and judged that vaccination of seniors should become “a priority public health objective”.