Gerri Gavin’s first cousin was staying with her in Galway for the New Year when she first began to feel unwell.
She thought she was just generally off form and hoped it was nothing more than a run-of-the-mill cold. The following day she experienced pain and a pins and needles sensation in her right arm and presumed it was something muscular. She took paracetamol to take the edge off it, but there was no improvement and her symptoms continued for five days.
When the 68-year-old woman returned to her home in Tullamore, Co Offaly, she decided to attend her GP. She was diagnosed with shingles, a viral infection that causes a painful rash. At this stage, the rash was beginning to appear.
“Her doctor prescribed antiviral medication and pain relief. My cousin was so ill she could not leave her bed to get food in and had to ring friends and ask them to do her grocery shopping,” says Gerri.
“The pain continued around her waist and into her right breast. She was not back to herself until the end of March. Shingles had stolen three months of her life and today, if she gets overtired, she still gets pain. This is one result of a shingles episode and you can get the infection more than once.”
This woman’s experience is not isolated, many others who have contracted shingles report suffering long-term ill effects.
“I spoke to another lady who had shingles and was very fit. She says that she feels old post-shingles and has never been the same since. Why should people be subjected to this illness [when there is a vaccine available against it]? Surely, we can be a more caring society [and provide this expensive vaccine free].”
Debilitating condition
Her cousin’s illness brought this painful and often debilitating condition into sharp focus for Gerri. Each year more than 10,000 people over 50 in Ireland develop shingles with many experiencing severe, long-term nerve pain.
A former chairperson of Knocknacarra Active Retirement Association (KARA ), Ms Gavin was selected as its Special Shingles Representative because of her interest in the subject. She is committed to heightening awareness about the condition and campaigning for the shingles vaccine to be available free for people aged 65 and over (there are almost 43,000 people over 65 in Galway city and county ) and the immunocompromised.
The association’s 200 strong membership will take part in a community support walk to highlight the issue today (Thursday ) at 11am. It will depart from the Claddagh Hall and walk to the Circle of Life Garden in Salthill and back. The initiative is part of a wider Active Retirement Ireland (it represents over 24,000 members nationwide ) national drive calling for the vaccine to be publicly funded. People can support the campaign by signing an online shingles vaccine petition (activeirl.ie/shingles-vaccine-petition ). More than 23,000 signatures have already been obtained.
“We have invited Active Retirement branches from across Galway to take part in the walk and are hoping for a strong community turnout. We want to create a warm and visible show of community support. There will be banners, music from our ukulele group, and hopefully, a speaker addressing ageism in Irish society.”
Ms Gavin says the cost of the vaccine is prohibitive – the two dose course costs from €480 to €500 (it costs about €600 in Dublin ). Access to preventative healthcare should never be only for those who can afford to pay, she believes.
“Many older and immunocompromised people are currently being left unable to afford protection from a painful and potentially debilitating illness. We are hearing from older people who simply cannot afford the vaccine privately, despite living in fear of the severe pain and complications shingles can cause. Many feel forgotten when it comes to preventative healthcare.
“Many people who develop shingles experience severe long-term nerve pain. There is also increasing evidence that [shingles] vaccination may help reduce dementia risk in older adults. Even Professor Luke O’Neill, speaking on the “Brendan O’Connor Show” a few weeks ago said that this vaccine was a no-brainer in not being part of the immunisation programme. Despite these benefits, access to the vaccine remains limited due to cost barriers. We believe no older person should be denied protection from shingles because of cost.”
Cost beneficial
The vaccine is available free or at a low cost in a number of countries including Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Australia, America, Japan, Canada, and the UK since 2023 so Ms Gavin wonders why Ireland is lagging behind in protecting the health of its immunocompromised and older people.
She says HIQA [the Health, Information, and Quality Authority, a statutory, government-funded agency which monitors the safety and quality of Irish healthcare ) conducted a cost study in 2024 about providing a free shingles vaccine to particular groups.
“They said it was not cost beneficial and they were not recommending it. But I believe everyone has the right to preventative healthcare and the right to benefit from medical treatment under the conditions established by natural laws and practices. Currently, Ireland is an outlier in not providing this vaccination.”
She believes older people make a vital contribution to society and says this must be recognised and respected. “We hear a lot about what older people are taking from society but not about their contribution. I firmly believe that not issuing this free vaccine is a sign of ageism. How many older people babysit their grand children, pick up and deliver them to school, and volunteer for a myriad activities such as the Tidy Towns competition, etc, and have spent a lifetime working and paying their taxes.
“There are approximately 806,000 people in Ireland over the age of 65. We do not, and should not, have to wait for this vaccine to be added to the immunisation programme. Furthermore, Ireland signed up to the 2009 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union along with the Treaty of Lisbon which states in relation to the elderly: ‘The Union recognises the right of the elderly to lead a life of dignity and independence and to participate in social and cultural life’. Everyone is equal before the law. Everyone has the right to preventative healthcare and the right to benefit from medical treatment under the conditions established by natural laws and practices.”
What is shingles?
Dr Brian Osborne, the assistant medical director of the Irish College of General Practitioners and a GP based at Kingston Medical Centre, says shingles is an infection that causes a painful rash with blisters. It is caused by the chickenpox virus (varicella zoster ) and can initially present with a tingling or painful area of skin and sometimes feeling generally unwell before the rash appears.
“The rash usually affects the trunk but can also appear on the arms, legs, or face and around the eyes. It can be a red blotchy rash and usually affects only skin on one side of the body. If it develops around your eyes or on the tip of your nose, you should seek prompt medical attention.”
Can shingles affect anyone of any age? “Most cases occur with no obvious cause but it is more likely to occur in people who are aged 65 and over, if you are experiencing physical or psychological stress, or if you have a weakened immune system.
“Antiviral medication can be used to shorten the illness. It works best if taken as early as possible, ideally the first day the rash appears. But it is beneficial if taken within three days of the beginning of the pain symptoms. Pain relief, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, can help to reduce the pain.”
The infection can sometimes cause complications, according to Dr Osborne. If it occurs near the eyes, it can cause ulcers and scarring and, if left untreated, can lead to vision problems.
“The pain caused by shingles can persist after the rash has resolved. This is called post herpetic-neuralgia. You should see your GP if you feel you have this. Sometimes, shingles on the face can cause muscle weakness. You may not be able to move muscles on one side of your face for a short while. This is called temporary facial paralysis.
“Rarely shingles can lead to serious infections of the brain and lung. This is more likely to occur in people whose immune system is weakened by illness or by immune-blocking treatment.”
What is the connection between chickenpox and shingles? If you had chicken pox, the virus stays dormant or inactive in your nerves, he explains. “If the virus becomes active, it can move along the nerves to the skin they supply and cause the shingles rash. The rash can appear anywhere depending on where the nerves supply.
“A person who has had chickenpox in the past is exceedingly unlikely to suffer any problems if they are in contact with a person with shingles. A person who has never had chickenpox could catch chickenpox from somebody with shingles if they come into direct contact with the rash.”
The shingles vaccine is over 90 per cent effective when given to healthy adults over 50, says Dr Osborne. “It reduces the risk of getting shingles and also the severity and duration of shingles if you do get it. It is given as two doses, two months apart.”
Apart from protecting people from the condition, research indicates that the vaccine may also be protective against dementia.
“Some studies have shown that people vaccinated with the shingles vaccine were up to 20 per cent less likely to get dementia in the following seven years compared to people who weren’t,” he says. “The evidence is not conclusive yet and hopefully, future studies will bring certainty.”
