Shingles vaccine coverage
PHS vaccination surveillance dashboard

About this release

This annual release from Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents shingles vaccination coverage statistics for Scotland as of 31 August 2026. More detailed results are available from the PHS Vaccination Surveillance Dashboard. The shingles vaccine can reduce the risk of getting shingles and the risk of complications. The main complication from shingles is post-herpetic neuralgia, a neuropathic pain that can persist for months or years. The risk and severity of this complication increase with age. Coverage is the proportion of eligible individuals who had completed the vaccination schedule applicable to them by 31 August 2026, regardless of when they received the vaccine. This represents a snapshot at a single point in time.

Main points

• As of 31 August 2026, coverage of the complete course of shingles vaccine among the eligible population in Scotland was 64.1%.
• Coverage was 42.0% for 65-year-olds and 60.2% for 66–67-year-olds. The latter group includes 67-year-olds who were first eligible in the previous year’s programme. Coverage was 55.9% for 70-year-olds, 75.7% for those aged 71–79 years, and 41.5% for individuals aged 18 years and over with a severely weakened immune system. Differences in coverage between age groups should be interpreted in the context of programme eligibility, as individuals who became eligible in previous programme years remain eligible for vaccination and may therefore have had more opportunities to be vaccinated. Eligibility groups are not mutually exclusive, and individuals can appear in more than one group.
• Coverage varied across NHS boards, ranging from 57.4% to 70.7%.
• Among the eligible population, coverage was lower among individuals living in the most deprived areas than among those living in the least deprived areas, at 50.9% and 73.9%, respectively, a difference of 23.0 percentage points. Deprivation was measured using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).
• Analysing vaccine coverage by ethnicity is used to identify and address health inequalities, ensure equitable access to vaccines, and understand disparities in outcomes across different ethnic groups at a population level. This analysis allows for targeted interventions to promote vaccination and improve the health of all communities. Among the total eligible population, the ethnicities with the highest vaccine coverage were White Other British (69.6%), White Irish (66.3%), and White Scottish (66.2%). In contrast, the ethnic groups with the lowest vaccine coverage were Caribbean - Caribbean or Black (37.2%), White Roma (36.0%), Asian Pakistani, Scottish Pakistani or British Pakistani (34.0%), African - African, African Scottish or African British (30.4%), and White Polish (23.2%).
• Coverage differed for individuals living in areas of different urban-rural classification. Coverage was highest in accessible rural areas and lowest in large urban areas, at 67.7% and 60.9%, respectively, a difference of 6.8 percentage points.

Background

Information about eligibility and how to get the shingles vaccine is available from NHS inform. Further programme information is provided in the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland letter on shingles vaccination. The Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification provides a consistent way of defining urban and rural areas across Scotland. It is based on a location’s population and accessibility, using drive time to differentiate between accessible and remote areas in Scotland. For further information see the Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification 2022 - gov.scot. Previous releases of this report can be found on the PHS website.

Further information

You can access the interactive dashboards on the PHS website PHS Vaccination Surveillance Dashboard.

The next release of this publication will be October 2027.