Research and analysis

Shingles uptake and coverage report (adults eligible September 2025 to November 2025 and vaccinated to end of January 2026): England

Updated 2 April 2026

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2026

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1. Main points

This quarterly report presents vaccine coverage and uptake data for the Shingrix for All immunisation programme for quarter 1 (Q1) of the 2025 to 2026 academic year (1 September 2025 to 30 November 2025), measured on 23 January 2026.

The ‘Shingrix for All’ immunisation programme began on 1 September 2023. The programme offers 2 doses of the Shingrix vaccine to all immunocompetent individuals turning 65 and 70 and severely immunosuppressed individuals turning 18 and over.

The main findings for this quarter were that:

  • uptake of Shingrix dose 1 was 18.8% in those who turned 65 in Q1 of 2025 to 2026, 2.6 percentage points higher than uptake in Q1 of 2024 to 2025

  • uptake of Shingrix dose 1 was 27.0% in those who turned 70 in Q1 of 2025 to 2026, 2.0 percentage points higher than uptake in Q1 of 2024 to 2025

  • coverage of Shingrix was 33.3% for dose 1 and 14.6% for dose 2 in those who turned 66 in 2025 to 2026. Coverage of dose 1 was 0.2 percentage points higher than in those who turned 66 in 2025 to 2026

  • coverage of Shingrix was 44.6% for dose 1 and 22.5% for dose 2 in those who turned 71 in 2025 to 2026. Coverage of dose 1 was 0.5 percentage points lower than in those who turned 71 in 2024 to 2025

  • coverage of Shingrix was 26.6% for dose 1 and 20.4% for dose 2 in those who turned 50 and over with severe immunosuppression [Note 1]

  • coverage of Shingrix was 2.9% for dose 1 in those who turned 18 to 50 with severe immunosuppression

Note 1. Coverage for immunosuppressed individuals only includes data from 41.2% of GPs due to data quality limitations

2. Introduction

The aim of the routine shingles (herpes zoster) vaccination programme is to prevent severe morbidity from shingles in groups at the highest risk.

A routine shingles vaccination programme began on 1 September 2013, offering one dose of Shingles (Zostavax) vaccine to all 70 year olds, together with a catch-up programme for older cohorts (1 to 3). Adults became eligible at 70 years old and remained eligible until their 80th birthday (See the Appendix).

From 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2023, GPs were able to offer the non-live shingles vaccine Shingrix® to all those who were eligible for shingles vaccination but clinically contraindicated to receive the live vaccine Zostavax® due to their immunocompromised status. The vaccine was offered via a proactive call to those becoming eligible at 70 years old and offered opportunistically or if requested for those over 70 years until the age of 80.

From 1 September 2023, these two programmes ceased, being replaced with a new programme offering two doses of Shingrix vaccine to:

  • immunocompetent individuals turning 65 and 70
  • all severely immunosuppressed (eligibility as defined in the Green Book Shingles chapter 28a) turning 50 or over

Immunocompetent individuals will remain eligible for the Shingrix vaccine until their 80th birthday and vaccines will be offered in a phased implementation over 10 years.

For full details of eligibility and the phased programme see Shingles immunisation programme: information for healthcare practitioners.

From September 2025, the Shingrix programme was expanded to include all severely immunosuppressed individuals from 18 years of age.

3. Methods

3.1 Data sources

The data presented in this report was collected at the GP practice level and was automatically uploaded via participating GP IT suppliers to ImmForm. Data was then validated and analysed by UKHSA to check data completeness, query any anomalous results and describe epidemiological trends.

3.2 Uptake methodology

Vaccine uptake was defined as the number of patients in each birth cohort, who received the first dose of the Shingrix vaccine (numerator) since 1 September 2025, as a proportion of the total number of registered patients in that birth cohort (denominator).

Q1 vaccine uptake in the 65 and 70 year old cohorts was defined as the proportion of patients turning 65 or 70 in Q1 (1 September 2025 to 30 November 2025) who received the Shingrix vaccine between 1 September 2025 and 23 January 2025. By collecting the data in late January, those becoming eligible in Q1 had between 1 and 4 months to receive the vaccine, depending on their date of birth.

A more detailed breakdown of the different cohorts can be found in Table 1.

Table 1. Eligibility table for those who turned 65 and 70 in Q1 of the 2025 to 2026 academic year

Eligibility Birth date range Period turning eligible
Turning 65 in Q1 1 September 1960 to 30 November 1960 1 September 2025 to 30 November 2025
Turning 70 in Q1 1 September 1955 to 30 November 1955 1 September 2025 to 30 November 2025

3.3 Coverage methodology

Vaccine coverage was defined as the number of patients in each birth cohort, who received the first dose of the Shingrix vaccine (numerator) at any time as a proportion of the total number of registered patients in that birth cohort (denominator).

Q1 vaccine coverage in the routine cohorts was defined as the proportion of patients turning 66 to 69 and 71 to 80 in the 2025 to 2026 academic year (1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026) who received the Shingrix vaccine by 23 January 2026.

Q1 vaccine coverage in the immunosuppressed cohort was defined as the proportion of patients with severe immunosuppression turning 18 to 50 or 50 and over in the 2025 to 2026 academic year (1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026) who received the Shingrix vaccine by 23 January 2026.

A more detailed breakdown of the different cohorts can be found in Table 2.

Table 2. Eligibility table for those turning 66, 67, 71 and 72, and those with severe immunosuppression turning 18 to 49 and 50 and over

Age turned from September 2025 to August 2026 Birth date range of cohort Period first eligible for Shingrix vaccine
18 to 49 (severely immunosuppressed) 1 September 1976 to 31 August 2008 1 September 2025 onwards
50 and over (severely immunosuppressed) Born before 1 September 1976 1 September 2023 onwards
66 1 September 1959 to 31 August 1960 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025
71 1 September 1954 to 31 August 1955 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025
67 1 September 1958 to 31 August 1959 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024
72 1 September 1953 to 31 August 1954 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024

4. Results

4.1 Data sources

A total of 6,065 out of 6,167 (98.3%) GP practices reported data for Q1 of the 2025 to 2026 academic year. Both main GP IT suppliers (Optum and TPP) provided data.

4.2 Shingrix Uptake

(a) Summary

This section reports vaccine uptake, which measures the proportion of the eligible population who received the Shingrix vaccine since 1 September 2025. Uptake provides an indicator of recent vaccination activity and is measured at multiple timepoints for each cohort. This means it can be used to estimate how soon after becoming eligible individuals take up the vaccine.

The main findings were that:

  • after being eligible for between 1 and 4 months, uptake was 18.8% for those turning 65 and 27.0% for those turning 70
  • uptake was slightly higher than in the previous academic year
  • uptake was higher in those turning 70 compared to those turning 65

(b) Uptake in the 2025 to 2026 routine cohort

Uptake in those turning 65

For those turning 65 in the 2025 to 2026 academic year:

  • uptake of Shingrix dose 1 was 18.8% when measured in January
  • uptake of Shingrix dose 1 was 2.6 percentage points higher than uptake in those turning 65 in Q1 of 2024 to 2025
  • uptake was lowest in London (10.2%) and highest in the South West (22.7%) (Table 3)
  • uptake was 1.9 percentage points higher in women (19.8%) compared with men (17.9%)

Uptake in those turning 70

For those turning 70 in the 2025 to 2026 academic year:

  • uptake of Shingrix dose 1 was 27.0% when measured in January
  • uptake of Shingrix dose 1 was 2.0 percentage points higher than uptake in those turning 70 in Q1 of 2024 to 2025
  • uptake was lowest in London (16.5%) and highest in the South West (31.7%) (Table 4)
  • uptake was 1.8 percentage points higher in women (27.9%) compared with men (26.1%)

Table 3. Shingrix dose 1 uptake for those turning 65 in Q1 of the 2025 to 2026 academic year, by commissioning region

Commissioning region Shingrix dose 1 uptake for those turning 65 in Q1
London 10.2
North West 15.1
Midlands 20.1
East of England 20.2
North East and Yorkshire 20.5
South East 22.0
South West 22.7
Total 18.8

Table 4. Shingrix dose 1 uptake for those turning 70 in Q1 of the 2025 to 2026 academic year, by commissioning region

Commissioning region Shingrix dose 1 uptake for those turning 70 in Q1
London 16.5
North West 22.4
Midlands 27.6
South East 29.4
North East and Yorkshire 29.6
East of England 30.1
South West 31.7
England 27.0

4.3 Shingrix Coverage

(a) Summary

This section reports vaccine coverage, which measures the proportion of the eligible populations who have received the Shingrix vaccine at any time. Coverage provides an indicator of the overall levels of protection in the population.

The main findings were that:

  • coverage in those aged 66 (33.3%) and 71 (44.6%) was slightly higher than Q1 coverage in those who turned 66 and 71 in 2024 to 2025
  • coverage has continued to increase over time in those aged 67 and 72, reaching 45.4% and 56.5% respectively
  • coverage in severely immunosuppressed individuals was 26.6% for those turning 50 and over and 2.9% in those turning 18 to 50 [Note 1]

(b) coverage in the 2024 to 2025 routine cohort

Coverage in those turning 66

For those turning 66 in the 2025 to 2026 academic year:

  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 was 33.3%
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 2 was 14.6%
  • coverage of dose 1 was 0.2 percentage points higher than Q1 coverage in those who turned 66 in 2024 to 2025
  • coverage of dose 2 was 0.2 percentage points higher than Q1 coverage in those who turned 66 in 2024 to 2025
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 was lowest in London (23.2%) and highest in the South East (38.8%) (Table 5)
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 2 was lowest in London (8.4%) and highest in the South West (17.9%)

Coverage in those turning 71

For those turning 71 in the 2025 to 2026 academic year:

  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 was 44.6%
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 2 was 22.5%
  • coverage of dose 1 was 0.5 percentage points lower than Q1 coverage in those who turned 71 in 2024 to 2025
  • coverage of dose 2 was 2.1 percentage points higher than Q1 coverage in those who turned 71 in 2024 to 2025
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 was lowest in London (32.6%) and highest in the South East (49.9%) (Table 5)
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 2 was lowest in London (14.2%) and highest in the South West (26.0%)

Table 5. Shingrix dose 1 and 2 coverage for those turning 66 and 71, by commissioning region

Commissioning region Shingrix dose 1 uptake for those turning 66 Shingrix dose 2 uptake for those turning 66 Shingrix dose 1 uptake for those turning 71 Shingrix dose 2 uptake for those turning 71
London 23.2 8.4 32.6 14.2
South West 38.2 17.9 49.4 26.0
South East 38.8 15.6 49.9 23.4
Midlands 32.9 14.9 44.7 23.0
East of England 35.3 16.7 47.1 25.5
North West 30.2 11.9 40.2 18.0
North East and Yorkshire 34.5 16.8 46.2 25.7
England 33.3 14.6 44.6 22.5

(c) coverage in the 2023 to 2024 routine cohort

Coverage in those turning 67

For those turning 67 in the 2025 to 2026 academic year:

  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 was 45.4%
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 2 was 33.1%
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 in this cohort has increased by 12.3 percentage points from Q1 of 2024 to 2025 (Figure 1)
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 2 in this cohort has increased by 18.7 percentage points from Q1 of 2024 to 2025
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 was lowest in London (33.9%) and highest in the South East (50.9%) (Table 6)
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 2 was lowest in London (21.5%) and highest in the South West (38.3%)


Coverage in those turning 72

For those turning 72 in the 2025 to 2026 academic year:

  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 was 56.5%
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 2 was 43.6%
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 in this cohort has increased by 11.4 percentage points from Q1 of 2024 to 2025 (Figure 2)
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 2 in this cohort has increased by 23.2 percentage points from Q1 of 2024 to 2025
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 was lowest in London (44.2%) and highest in the South West (61.3%) (Table 6)
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 2 was lowest in London (29.4%) and highest in the South West (49.3%)


Table 6. Shingrix dose 1 and 2 coverage for those turning 67 and 72, by commissioning region

Commissioning region Shingrix dose 1 uptake for those turning 67 Shingrix dose 2 uptake for those turning 67 Shingrix dose 1 uptake for those turning 72 Shingrix dose 2 uptake for those turning 72
London 33.9 21.5 44.2 29.4
North West 41.8 29.1 53.5 39.5
Midlands 44.8 32.9 56.4 43.7
North East and Yorkshire 46.5 35.5 58.1 46.7
East of England 48.3 36.9 59.2 47.2
South West 50.6 38.3 61.3 49.3
South East 50.9 36.5 60.3 46.4
England 45.4 33.1 56.5 43.6

(d) Coverage in immunosuppressed individuals

For those with severe immunosuppression becoming eligible in the 2025 to 2026 academic year [Note 1]:

  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 was 26.6% and dose 2 was 20.4% for those turning 50 and over
  • coverage of Shingrix dose 1 was 2.9% for those turning 18 to 50

Note 1. Coverage for immunosuppressed individuals only includes data from 41.2% of GPs due to data quality limitations

5. Discussion

Uptake for those becoming eligible for Shingrix in Q1 of the 2025 to 2026 academic year was 18.8% for those turning 65 and 27.0% for those turning 70. This is slightly higher than the uptake measured for those becoming eligible in Q1 of the 2024 to 2025 academic year. For both routine cohorts, uptake by gender was slightly lower in men compared to women.

In Q1 of 2025 to 2026, dose 1 coverage was 33.3% for those turning 66 and 44.6% for those turning 71. These individuals would have been eligible for between 13 and 16 months when coverage was measured in January 2026. Dose 1 coverage in these individuals is expected to continue to increase as individuals have more time to be vaccinated. Coverage of dose 2 was lower for all age groups as individuals only became eligible for the second dose 12 months after receiving their initial dose.

This report focuses on individuals who have become eligible for the Shingrix vaccine since the ‘Shingrix for All’ programme began in September 2023. Individuals aged 72 to 80 became eligible for the shingles vaccine during the Zostavax immunisation programme although they may have also received the Shingrix vaccine if stocks of Zostavax were depleted. Some individuals may also have received Shingrix during the previous immunisation programme which targeted immunosuppressed individuals.

6. Appendix: Eligibility criteria

September 2025

From September 2025, the Shingrix vaccination programme was expanded to include all severely immunosuppressed individuals aged 18 years and over.

September 2023

The new Shingrix vaccination programme was introduced in September 2023. The new programme offers 2 doses of Shingrix vaccine to all severely immunosuppressed individuals from 50 years of age and immunocompetent individuals turning 65 and 70 years of age.

September 2020

As of 1 September 2020, all individuals in the catch-up cohorts (born 2 September 1933 to 1 September 1942) have been offered the Shingles (Zostavax) vaccine when they turned 78 years old, thus completing the catch-up programme which started on 1 September 2013.

April 2017

The eligibility criteria for receiving the Shingles (Zostavax) vaccine was simplified so that individuals become eligible on their 70th birthday (routine cohort) or their 78th birthday (catch-up cohort).

September 2016

In the fourth year of the programme (1 September 2016 to 31 August 2017), the vaccine was routinely offered to adults aged 70 years on 1 September 2016 (born between 2 September 1945 and 1 September 1946). The fourth year of the programme also included a catch-up cohort of adults aged 78 on 1 September 2016 (born between 2 September 1937 and 1 September 1938). In addition, patients who became eligible in the first 3 years of the programme but have not been vaccinated against shingles remain eligible until their 80th birthday (patients aged 71, 72, 73 and 79 on 1 September 2016).

September 2015

In the third year of the programme (1 September 2015 to 31 August 2016), the vaccine was routinely offered to adults aged 70 years on 1 September 2015 (born between 2 September 1944 and 1 September 1945). The third year of the programme also included a catch-up cohort of adults aged 78 on 1 September 2015 (born between 2 September 1936 and 1 September 1937). In addition, patients who became eligible in the first 2 years of the programme but have not been vaccinated against shingles (Zostavax) remain eligible until their 80th birthday (patients aged 71, 72 and 79 on 1 September 2015).

September 2014

In the second year of the programme (1 September 2014 to 31 August 2015), the vaccine was routinely offered to adults aged 70 years on 1 September 2014 (born between 2 September 1943 and 1 September 1944). The second year of the programme also included 2 catch-up cohorts comprised of adults aged 78 on 1 September 2014 (born between 2 September 1935 and 1 September 1936), and adults aged 79 on 1 September 2014 (born between 2 September 1934 and 1 September 1935). In addition, those who became eligible as 70 year olds from 1 September 2013 but had not yet been immunised were also eligible.

September 2013

In the first year of the programme (2013 to 2014), the vaccine was routinely offered to adults aged 70 years on 1 September 2013 (born between 2 September 1942 and 1 September 1943 and to adults aged 79 on 1 September 2013 (born between 2 September 1933 and 1 September 1934) as part of the catch-up campaign.

7. References

  1. NHS Choices website (2021). Who can have the shingles vaccine?
  2. UKHSA (2022).Vaccination against shingles: information for healthcare professionals
  3. UKHSA (2022). Shingles: guidance and vaccination programme
  4. UKHSA. Shingles vaccine uptake
  5. UKHSA. Shingles (herpes zoster): the green book, chapter 28a
  6. Andrews N, Stowe J, Kuyumdzhieva G, Sile B, Yonova I, Lusignan S, Ramsay M and Amirthalingam G (2020). ‘Impact of the herpes zoster vaccination programme on hospitalised and general practice consulted herpes zoster in the 5 years after its introduction in England: a population-based study’ BMJ Open
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