Pain specialists call for shingles vaccine funding to prevent chronic pain
New Zealand’s specialist pain medicine physicians are calling for the next government to fully fund shingles vaccination for people aged 65 and over.
Chronic pain affects 27.5 per cent of New Zealand adults, rising to 40.3 per cent of people aged 75 and above.
Dr Charlotte Hill, chair of the Faculty of Pain Medicine’s New Zealand National Committee (FPM NZNC) says New Zealand cannot currently provide enough pain management services or specialist pain medicine physicians to solve a health problem affecting more than one in four adults.
“New Zealand needs to invest in preventing chronic pain, not just treating it once it has developed. Prevention needs to become part of chronic pain policy, and shingles is an obvious place to start.”
Health New Zealand data indicates about one in every three people will develop shingles during their lifetime, rising to one in two among people aged over 85.
Up to 30 per cent of people who develop shingles may develop post-herpetic neuralgia – chronic nerve pain that can persist for months or years. The current shingles vaccine is more than 90 per cent effective at preventing shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia, including in older people.
Dr Hill says for most New Zealanders the shingles vaccine is funded only during the 12 months after their 65th birthday, despite the risk of shingles increasing with age, and many people are unaware of this narrow window for funded vaccination.
“Health New Zealand recommends shingles vaccination from age 50. We have an extraordinarily effective intervention to prevent a common acute and chronic pain condition, and yet we choose not to provide it to many New Zealanders who would benefit from it.
“Once post-herpetic neuralgia develops, it can be extremely difficult to treat. The medicines we use for neuropathic pain can have significant side effects, particularly in older people, including sedation and dizziness, which can contribute to falls and threaten independence.”
Dr Hill says Australia already funds shingles vaccination for everyone aged 65 and over, and matching the policy in New Zealand would be a sensible step.
“With more than one in four New Zealand adults already living with chronic pain, we cannot treat our way out of this problem.
“We need to put funding into prevention. Preventing chronic pain protects people’s health, function and independence and reduces pressure on primary care, hospitals and pain services.
“If you are aged 50 or over and can afford to pay for shingles vaccination, talk to your GP, pharmacist or healthcare provider about getting vaccinated.
“If you are 65, you have a 12-month window to receive a vaccine for free that would otherwise cost about $600 to $800. It is probably one of the best birthday presents you will ever get – from the government”.
