Other routine vaccinations

Pneumococcal infection can lead to serious illnesses such as sepsis and meningitis. Infections tend to be most serious in:

• children
• older people
• those with certain health conditions

The pneumococcal vaccine is a safe vaccine that can help to prevent some of the serious types of pneumococcal infections.

Eligibility

We offer a pneumococcal vaccine to:

• people aged 65 years and over
• children under 2 years old, as part of their routine immunisations
• some individuals with underlying medical conditions as defined in the Green Book (gov.uk)

Those eligible can receive the pneumococcal vaccine at any time of year. You can make arrangements through your healthcare professional.

Further information is available through Public Health Wales.

Vaccination against shingles has expanded in Wales to protect individuals from an earlier age. This is in line with advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Read more about changes to shingles vaccine eligibility.

The current eligibility extends to:

• immunocompetent individuals as they turn 65 years of age
• all immunocompetent individuals aged 70 to 79 years old are already eligible for shingles vaccination
• severely immunosuppressed individuals aged 18 and over

Further information on eligibility is in the Shingles (herpes zoster): the green book chapter - GOV.UK.

Get vaccinated for shingles

The shingles vaccine is available at GP surgeries in Wales. Your GP surgery should contact you to make an appointment when you are eligible. If they don’t, or you think you might have missed the invitation, contact them and tell them you think you are due for a shingles vaccine.

Shingles can occur at any age. Yet risk, severity and complications increase with age, especially in severely immunosuppressed individuals. It is important to ensure that those at greatest risk are vaccinated, and this is the basis of our adoption of the JCVI advice in Wales.  

To learn more about the shingles vaccine or the diseases it protects against, more information is on the Public Health Wales website. You can also call NHS 111 or your GP surgery for advice if you have any questions.

Information on changes to eligibility

As with elsewhere in the UK, the eligibility change for immunocompetent individuals is planned in two phases in Wales. For a 5 year period, commencing in 2023, the campaign will start with the vaccination of those turning 65 and 70. Then for another 5 year period from 2028 onwards, vaccination will be offered to those turning 60 and 65. 

Vaccination is planned to be routinely offered to immunocompetent people turning 60 from 2028. However, this future expansion will be subject to the latest JCVI advice.

Further details are available here: Changes to shingles vaccinations (WHC/2023/024) | GOV.WALES