30/04/2024
This year’s World Immunisation Week from 24 to 30 April celebrates the lifesaving vaccines that protect people of all ages against disease and disability, emphasising the success of vaccines over the past 50 years and encouraging continued investment in the cause over the next 50 years.
ILC have long been advocates for expanding access to vaccines, which are some of the most effective, safest, and cost-effective health interventions we have. However, as our latest research into shingles shows the burden of preventable disease tends to impact older people disproportionately. Our Painfully Unaware report on attitudes and awareness of shingles and shingles vaccination in Europe describes how 1 in 3 adults will get shingles in their lifetime.
As we get older, the risk of more severe shingles infection increases. Side effects like nerve damage, neurological conditions, vision and hearing loss, and skin infections all become more likely. When people develop a more severe shingles infection, this not only burdens healthcare systems, but also affects economies through healthcare costs and work loss costs. Vaccination is proven method to protect people from the disease, allowing them to live healthier for longer, and offer social and economic improvements for individuals and wider communities.
We surveyed thousands of participants aged 50+ in nine countries – Austria, Belgium, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK – to better understand attitudes and awareness surrounding shingles vaccination. Whilst vaccination is valued by European adults, knowledge of shingles and uptake of vaccination is worryingly low.
Our survey revealed that:
• Only 8% of participants had received a shingles vaccination.
• Knowledge of the shingles virus is lacking: people don’t know when they’re at risk for developing an infection, or how severe an infection can be. In some cases, people hadn’t even heard of the virus.
• Some healthcare professionals aren’t warning patients about the risk of shingles, but there is a strong positive correlation between vaccine uptake and communication from a healthcare professional.
• Knowledge is the biggest motivator for those who had been vaccinated and would be the biggest motivator to support increased uptake.
The ILC’s Painfully Unaware report, supported by GSK, calls for the EU, national governments, health workers, and public health bodies to do more when it comes to educating individuals on the risks of shingles and encouraging wider vaccination uptake. Read the report here or via the button below.
And to learn more about our research and policy recommendations on immunisation, please visit our adult immunisation webpage. https://ilcuk.org.uk/adult-immunisation/
