Widespread confusion over who is eligible for the NHS shingles jab means thousands are going unprotected against the agonising infection, a survey has revealed.

The poll found one in five over-65s either did not know what shingles was or were unaware the NHS offered a vaccine to prevent it.

Fewer than half said they had been vaccinated, while nearly seven in ten admitted they did not understand who was eligible.

More than 50,000 elderly Britons develop shingles every year, and nearly one in four of any age will have it at some point in their lives.

The condition is linked to chickenpox – a highly contagious childhood illness that causes itchy, spotty rashes. While chickenpox is usually mild, the virus that causes it – varicella-zoster – lies dormant in the body and can reactivate later in life, especially as the immune system weakens with age.

This can cause shingles – a painful, blistering rash that typically appears on one side of the chest or abdomen, but can strike anywhere on the body.

Currently, anyone turning 65 is offered a shingles vaccine, and remain eligible until they are 80. But those who turned 65 before

September 1, 2023, must wait until they are 70.

The poll found one in five over-65s either did not know what shingles was or were unaware the NHS offered a vaccine to prevent shingles (stock image)

REGRETS: Daniel Hill endured shingles while in Majorca

‘I am not surprised by these findings at all,’ said Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease expert at the University of East Anglia.

‘A combination of confusing eligibility criteria – which even confused me, to be honest – and a lack of promotion of the vaccine campaign means that many people are going unprotected from what can be an extraordinarily painful and debilitating virus.’

The jab is available privately at high street pharmacies such as Boots and Superdrug – but the two required doses cost £460 in total.

‘I’m part of that group who has to wait until they turn 70 for the vaccine, and I did consider going private because of how painful shingles can be,’ Professor Hunter added.

‘It is a very effective and safe vaccine, and people should make sure they get it as soon as they’re eligible on the NHS.’

The study of more than 2,000 over-65s by GSK – the British pharmaceutical firm behind the jab – also found that most respondents wrongly believed they were still eligible for the NHS shingles vaccine after turning 80, when that is the cut-off age.

A third of respondents also said they did not trust the Government for information on vaccines.

Shingles is often accompanied by headaches, nausea and weeks of severe pain – and in some cases it can prove fatal. Around 50 Britons over 70 die from shingles each year.

The study of more than 2,000 over-65s by GSK – the British pharmaceutical firm behind the jab – also found that most respondents wrongly believed they were still eligible for the NHS shingles vaccine after turning 80, when that is the cut-off age 

The vaccine reduces the risk of infection by 90 per cent, yet uptake has historically been low – less than half of all 71-year-olds are vaccinated.

The latest figures show fewer than one in five of those who turned 65 this year have received the jab.

The current two-dose vaccine, Shingrix, replaced a less effective version in September 2023. But due to high global demand, the Government opted to phase in eligibility.

As reported by The Mail on Sunday, campaigners have urged ministers to end what they call ‘discrimination’ against the three million people aged 66 to 69 who are currently ineligible.

Senior citizens group Silver Voices has called on the NHS to scrap the age restriction, warning it puts millions at unnecessary risk.

One man who regrets missing out on the jab is 72-year-old Daniel Hill.

While on holiday in Majorca he noticed a strange rash of blisters, about four inches wide, on his back. Concerned, but not alarmed, he visited a local clinic, where a doctor diagnosed shingles and prescribed antiviral medication.

He was offered painkillers, but he declined them.

But he said that moments after leaving, the pain struck ‘like someone had taken an axe to my back’.

The pensioner spent the rest of the trip in agony, confined to bed.

‘You really don’t want to get shingles,’ he said. ‘I wish I’d known the vaccine was available on the NHS – I was eligible but had no idea.

‘It’s so important to check if you qualify and, if you do, get vaccinated to avoid the terrible impact it can have.’