20% of eligible patients receive shingles vaccine within six months of NIP change
Data show around 1.2 million vaccines were given in the six months after Shingrix replaced Zostavax on the NIP.
Monthly shingles vaccinations have soared from 30,000 to 200,000 since the National Immunisation Program replaced the live-attenuated Zostavax with recombinant vaccine Shingrix, data show.
Until November 2023, around 15,000 Zostavax doses were being administered monthly under the National Immunisation Program (NIP), alongside a similar number of privately sourced Shingrix vaccines, which cost up to $600 for the two-dose course.
In the first six months of Shingrix replacing Zostavax on the NIP, around 1.2 million vaccines were given.
While Shingrix requires two doses 2-6 months apart, compared with the single-dose Zostavax, the difference has still been dramatic, according to the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance.
