Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason is the shingles vaccine not available to people between the ages of 66 to 69 on 1 September 2023; and whether she will make an assessment of the potential impact of not providing the vaccine on those people.

The current policy offers the shingles vaccine shingrix to anyone who turned 65 or 70 years old on or after 1 September 2023, and to anyone aged 50 years old and over, who is at higher risk of serious complications as a result of having a severely weakened immune system. This approach has been used in the effective implementation of previous immunisation programmes. Whilst some individuals may have to wait until they are eligible, the population benefit of adopting this approach is greater, and means that many individuals will receive the vaccine sooner and will benefit for longer.

The approach is modelled on the first shingles programme, optimising achievements within the resources and capacity of the National Health Service, while being delivered alongside other important healthcare priorities, and avoiding undue additional pressure on NHS delivery services. An assessment of the potential impact of not providing the vaccine to people aged 66 to 69 years old is not required, as they remain eligible to receive a shingles vaccination when they turn 70 years old, as they would have done prior to 1 September 2023.