Shingles is a common and painful disease. It can result in long-term pain and in rare cases can even be fatal. In the UK, people turning 65 or 70 are offered the shingles vaccine. However, uptake has historically been low at 36%.
The shingles vaccine consists of two doses. Some research has already been done on giving the first shingles vaccine dose with a COVID-19 or flu vaccine, but none existed on the second dose.
Study aims and design
The ZosterFluCov study aimed to address this issue by exploring the side effects of offering the two shingles vaccine doses when older people receive their other seasonal jabs. Uptake of these is generally high, with 75% of people having the flu jab and 80% the COVID-19.
The team enrolled nearly 1,000 people aged 50 and over who had not received a shingles vaccine in the past 5 years. Their average age was 60.5 years, and just over half (55%) were female. They were randomly allocated into one of five groups, and did not know which group they were in.
Participants provided blood samples at study visits so researchers could look at their immune response. They also completed an electronic diary between visits to record side effects, such as fever and tiredness.
Prevalence of side effects
Some people had more notable side effects that limited their ability to carry out their daily activities for 1-2 days after vaccination. The most common problem was tiredness. These more notable side effects occurred in more people when the vaccines were given together compared to when the vaccines were given alone.
Dr Rajeka Lazarus, vaccine researcher and Infection Consultant at Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, University of Bristol and UK Health Security Agency, is principal investigator on ZosterFluCov. She said:
“Shingles can be a very serious and debilitating illness, particularly for older adults, causing severe pain and potentially long-lasting complications. Our study shows that the shingles vaccine can be given safely alongside seasonal flu and COVID-19 vaccinations, without compromising the immune response to any of the vaccines.
“By offering people the opportunity to receive these vaccines at the same appointment, we can make vaccination more convenient and help improve uptake of shingles vaccination, which remains lower than we would like. This could help protect more people from a preventable disease while reducing the number of healthcare visits needed.
“These findings provide important evidence to support future vaccination programmes and could make it easier for eligible people to stay up to date with all the vaccines recommended to protect their health.”
Visit the ZosterFluCov pages on the University of Bristol website to find out more about the study.
Read the paper
Rosie Harris et al, published in the Journal of Infection.