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Adult vaccination as the cornerstone of successful ageing: the case of herpes zoster vaccination. A European Interdisciplinary Council on Ageing (EICA) expert focus group

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Abstract

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a painful cutaneous rash with vesicular lesions, lasting up to 3 weeks, and caused by reactivation of the latent varicella zoster virus (VZV). It may be associated with complications, the most feared being post-herpetic neuralgia. Effective vaccines are available to prevent HZ, but uptake remains low. We report here the conclusions of an expert focus group convened by the European Interdisciplinary Council on Ageing (EICA). The group discussed how existing recommendations regarding HZ vaccination could be better implemented, and how compliance and coverage with HZ vaccination could be enhanced. This report proposes strategies to increase awareness of HZ and its vaccine, enhance vaccine uptake, and educate regarding the role of prevention, including immunization, as a means to “age well”. A key strategy that could rapidly and easily be implemented at low cost is co-administration of HZ vaccine with other vaccines scheduled in the target age group. The scientific evidence surrounding the safety and efficacy of co-administration is discussed. Other strategies, such as active calls, publicity campaigns and national vaccine registries are also outlined. There is a compelling need for a full consensus document that carries weight across all the healthcare professions involved in vaccination, to issue simple and basic recommendations for all healthcare providers.

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Acknowledgements

Giovanni Gabutti reports grants from Sanofi Pasteur MSD, GSK Biologicals SA, Novartis, Crucell/Janssen, Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, MSD Italy, PaxVax and Seqirus for roles in advisory boards, expert meetings, as speaker and/or organizer of meetings/congresses and as principal investigator in RCTs; all outside of the submitted work. Roberto Bernabei reports grants to the Italia Longeva Agency which he presides, from MSD (2015–2018), Pfizer (2015–2018) and Novartis (2015), outside of the submitted work; Stefania Maggi reports grants from Merck, GSK, Pfizer, Takeda, all outside of the submitted work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, University Hospital Jean Minjoz, 3 Boulevard Fleming, 25000, Besancon, France

    Fiona Ecarnot

  2. EA3920, University of Burgundy Franche-Comté, Besancon, France

    Fiona Ecarnot

  3. Dipartimento Scienze dell’ Invecchiamento, Neurologiche, Ortopediche e della Testa-Collo, Fondazione Policlinico A. Gemelli, Rome, Italy

    Roberto Bernabei

  4. Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    Giovanni Gabutti

  5. Department of Prevention, Local Health Unit, Reggio Calabria, Italy

    Sandro Giuffrida

  6. University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Jean-Pierre Michel

  7. Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma, Italy

    Giovanni Rezza

  8. CNR Aging Branch-NI, Padova, Italy

    Stefania Maggi

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  1. Fiona Ecarnot
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Correspondence to Fiona Ecarnot.

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Fiona Ecarnot, Sandro Giuffrida, Jean-Pierre Michel and Giovanni Rezza have no conflicts of interest to declare. The meeting was organized with the help of an unrestricted educational grant from MSD.

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Ecarnot, F., Bernabei, R., Gabutti, G. et al. Adult vaccination as the cornerstone of successful ageing: the case of herpes zoster vaccination. A European Interdisciplinary Council on Ageing (EICA) expert focus group. Aging Clin Exp Res 31, 301–307 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-019-01154-1

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