OLDER Australians are being urged to have the free shingles vaccination along with their flu vaccine to keep pushing down the incidence of the painful chicken pox-related condition.
Since the launch of the vaccine Zostavax on the National Immunisation Program for people in their 70s in late 2016 there has been a decline in the use of antivirals used to treat the condition.
"This free NIP vaccination, with catchup vaccines offered to those 71-79, has resulted in a fall in the incidence of shingles," says Flinders University Associate Professor John Litt.
"Our study indicates that more than 60% of people have received the vaccine, even though there are just under 35% on the official Australian Immunisation Register (AIR), which still leaves further room for improvement in coming years."
"We have seen quite a successful story to curb shingles and the pain of postherpetic neuralgia through vaccination in the community," he said.
Westmead Institute for Medical Research Professor Anthony Cunningham, Associate Professor Litt and collaborators from around Australia have published their findings in a new paper in Human Vaccines and Immunotherapies.
"The current study notes that almost 1.4 million doses were distributed in the first 17 months after NIP funding, compared with less than half a million recorded on the AIR, indicating substantive under-reporting of the administration of the vaccine," says Professor Cunningham.
"GPs are used to uploading to the AIR for younger patients but in this case, especially given the rapid expansion of the vaccine, uploading of Zostavax administration has fallen behind.
"The positive findings of this study should help encourage ongoing vaccination efforts to help protect eligible older adults from the risk of shingles."
Another vaccine for shingles - Shingrix - is not yet available in Australia.
Shingles is the common name for herpes zoster and it is caused by a reactivation of the chickenpox virus varicella zoster which most older Australians will have had as children. It is a painful and debilitating condition which mainly effects older people and as well as a itchy, blistering rash can cause painful postherpetic neuralgia.
The vaccine Zostavax is free for people aged 70 with a catch-up program for people aged 71 - 79 years until October 31, 2021. It reduces the risk of shingles by over 50% and makes any cases that do occur less severe.