Herpes Zoster vaccination trends: can more be done?

Background and Objective: Herpes zoster (HZ) is the result of the reactivation of the latent varicella zoster virus. HZ reactivation is more common in the elderly and immunocompromised people. Currently, there are two HZ vaccines, one live-attenuated (ZOSTAVAX, LZV) administered with a single dose and another recombinant (SHINGRIX, RZV) with two doses. The latter was administered in October 2021 in the Local Health Authority (LHA) Toscana Sud-Est for the first time. This study aims to analysethe trend of HZ vaccinations administered in our LHA for further strategies. Method: This retrospective descriptive study was conducted in the Public Health Department of Siena, Italy. We collected HZ vaccines data,through the SISPC management system, from 1 January 2019 to 5 December 2022. A descriptive analysis was carried out using EXCEL, andthe following variables were collected: age, sex, and vaccine type. Results: During the analysed period, the total RZV first doses administered were 205, while the total LZV doses were 64. The number of LZV shotswas: 3 (2019), 9 (2020), 12 (2021) and 40 (2022),while for RZV, they were: 5 (2021) and 200 (2022). The mean age for both vaccines was 70 years (SD± 6.33 for LZV; SD ±8.56 for RZV). The total percentage of vaccinated males and females with LZV is 35.9 and 64.1,while with RZV is 47.8 and 52.2. Conclusion: From 2019 to 2022, there was a progressive increase in the administration of both vaccines, especially for RZV in 2022, probably related to the awareness campaign promoted on TV and radio starting in July. To achieve higher adherence, especially in immunocompromised patients, it might be useful to establish a collaboration between vaccine HUBs and hospital facilities that would allow them to have direct access to vaccination.