Shingles vaccination

I didn't know there was a shingles vaccine. I didn't get chicken pox till I was 30, so hopefully I'll be just as late getting shingles.

The shingles vaccination is being rolled out over several years. Starting in September 2013, everyone 70 or 79 on 1 September each year is offered the chance to have the jab. With a 70th birthday in August 2013 I got the jab last Autumn. DH, a month younger than me, had to wait until this year.

crun you may not ever get shingles, not everyone does. Some people get it when they are very young. However, the nasty little varicella-zoster virus will sit there quietly and then catch you out, particularly if you are run-down, stressed or your immune system is low.

They vaccinate children against chicken pox in Australia; I don't know why they don't do it here as presumably it would avoid the nastiness of shingles as well.