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. The varicella-zoster virus, which causes both chickenpox and shingles, costs the EU $660 million a year. $430 million of this is indirect losses, mainly associated with work loss. Individuals are either too unwell to stay in employment or need to take extended time off to become carers.

Vaccination is a proven preventative method for protecting older people against shingles and encouraging healthy ageing. This not only helps more live longer, but also offers social and economic improvements for individuals and wider communities. But across Europe, knowledge and awareness of the disease is poor and vaccination uptake is low.

We surveyed thousands of participants aged 50+ in 9 countries – Austria, Belgium, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK – to better understand attitudes and awareness surrounding shingles vaccination.

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.

We need to do more to encourage uptake, by:

• Investing in systems designed for prevention
• Taking actions to inspire and engage
• Taking actions to democratise access to prevention
• Supporting the effective use of technology

The ILC’s Painfully Unaware report, supported by GSK, calls for the EU, national governments, health workers and public health bodies to do more to educate individuals on the risks of shingles and encourage widespread vaccination uptake.