By NATSUMI ADACHI/ Staff Writer
December 18, 2024 at 18:08 JST
To combat the rising cases of shingles, a particular scourge for older adults, the health ministry will add its vaccination to the national immunization program, starting in fiscal 2025.
That will make people aged 65 eligible for the vaccine, with a portion of the cost covered by public funds.
A ministry expert panel approved the change on Dec. 18.
For those who have already passed that age, the program will include individuals aged 66 and above for the first five years.
Symptoms of shingles, also known as herpes zoster, include burning or stabbing pain accompanied by a rash of blisters that typically follows a nerve pathway on the body or the face.
Up to 50 percent of patients experience lingering nerve pain for months or even years.
Two types of shingles vaccines are approved in Japan: a live vaccine that requires a single dose and a recombinant vaccine that requires two doses.
They cost about 10,000 yen ($65) and 40,000 yen, respectively.
Currently, these vaccines are available to individuals aged 50 and older, as well as to those at least 18 who are at higher risk of developing the disease due to immune deficiency and other conditions.
Under the existing vaccine program, individuals must cover the full cost unless their local government provides a subsidy.
Shingles cases surge in people in their 50s and peak in those in their 70s.
The new initiative aims to vaccinate individuals at age 65, helping to ensure that acquired immunity peaks around the age of 70, according to the ministry.
The program also includes individuals aged 60 to 64 who have weakened immunity due to HIV infection.
Shingles and chickenpox are caused by the same virus.
After a patient recovers from chickenpox, a common childhood disease, the virus remains dormant in the nervous system and can reactivate later in life, particularly when the immune system is weakened.
It is estimated that one in three people will experience shingles by the age of 80.
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Varicella-zoster virus that causes shingles (Provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
