Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the implementation of Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advice on the expansion of the NHS shingles vaccination programme to adults aged (1) 80 and over, and (2) 60 and over; and by what date they expect each of those cohorts to have access to that programme.

The Government is carefully considering the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI’s) advice on expanding shingles vaccination to adults aged 80 years old and over. We are working through this process as quickly as possible.

Adults turning 60 years of age will become eligible for shingles vaccination from 1 September 2028 through a phased implementation process concluding in September 2033. Thereafter, shingles vaccination will be offered routinely to immunocompetent adults at 60 years of age. This approach is in line with JCVI advice and helps maximise cost-effectiveness and population benefit, takes account of National Health Service delivery capacity, and is consistent with the approach taken across all four nations of the United Kingdom.