Torbay Council’s Public Health Team is highlighting a vaccine to prevent shingles, a common, painful skin disease.

The vaccination is currently available on the NHS to certain people in their 70s. The shingles vaccine is given as a single injection into the upper arm. Unlike the flu jab, you'll only need to have the vaccination once and you can have it at any time of the year.

Cllr Derek Mills, Deputy Mayor and Executive Lead for Health and Wellbeing, said: “The shingles vaccine is expected to reduce your risk of getting shingles. If you are unlucky enough to go on to have the disease, your symptoms may be milder and the illness shorter.

“Shingles can be very painful and uncomfortable. Some people are left with pain lasting for years after the initial rash has healed. And shingles is fatal for around 1 in 1,000 over 70s who develop it.

“It's fine to have the shingles vaccine if you've already had shingles. The shingles vaccine works very well in people who have had shingles before and it will boost your immunity against further shingles attacks.”

Who can have the shingles vaccination?
From September 1 2015, the shingles vaccine is routinely available to people aged 70 and 78. You become eligible for the vaccine on the first day of September 2015 after you have turned 70 or 78 and remain so until the last day of August 2016.

In addition, anyone who was eligible for immunisation in the previous two years of the programme but missed out on their vaccinations remains eligible until their 80th birthday. This includes:
• people aged 71 and 72 on 1 September 2015
• people aged 79

The shingles vaccine is not available on the NHS if you are aged 80 or over.
You can have the shingles vaccination at any time of year, though many people will find it convenient to have it at the same time as their annual flu vaccination.

How do I get the shingles vaccine?
You don't need to do anything. Your doctor will invite you to the surgery for the vaccine when you become eligible. If you can't go to the appointment you're offered, contact your GP practice to rearrange it. It’s important that you don't leave it too late to have the vaccination, as your GP may only be able to give it
to you before 31 August 2016.

How long will the shingles vaccine protect me for?
It's difficult to be precise, but research suggests the shingles vaccine will protect you for at least five years, probably longer.

How safe is the shingles vaccine?
There is lots of evidence showing that the shingles vaccine is very safe. It's already been used in several countries, including the US and Canada, and no safety concerns have been raised. The vaccine also has few side effects.

What is shingles?
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful skin rash caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus (varicella-zoster virus) in people who have previously had chickenpox.

It begins with a burning sensation in the skin, followed by a rash of very painful fluid-filled blisters that can then burst and turn into sores before healing. Often an area on just one side of the body is affected, usually the chest but sometimes the head, face and eye.

How is shingles spread?
You don't "catch" shingles – it comes on when there's a reawakening of chickenpox virus that's already in your body. The virus can be reactivated because of advancing age, medication, illness or stress and so on.

Anyone who has had chickenpox can get shingles. It's estimated that around one in five people who have had chickenpox go on to develop shingles.

Who's most at risk of shingles?
People tend to get shingles more often as they get older, especially over the age of 70. And the older you are, the worse it can be. The shingles rash can be extremely painful, such that sufferers can't even bear the feeling of their clothes touching the affected skin.

In some individuals, the pain can persist for several months after the rash has disappeared (known as post herpetic neuralgia or PHN). Anyone who has concerns that they may have symptoms of the virus should contact their GP.
The table below is a guide for who is eligible for the shingles vaccine in 2015 to 2016.

To find out whether you are eligible please visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/shingles-vaccination.aspx