Pneumo and Shingles Vaccinations

Dulais Valley is happy to offer shingles and pneumococcal vaccinations to patients. Those eligible are welcome to attend a walk-in vaccine clinic between 4pm and 5pm every Tuesday, or if you prefer to book, our Health Care Worker will be running a full day vaccine clinic every Wednesday.

Please note, these clinics are not for flu or COVID vaccinations, these will be handled separately. Patients will be invited for these vaccinations via the healthboard by letter and by text message.

Shingles (information via Public Health Wales)

Shingles (herpes zoster) is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus which causes chickenpox. Unlike other infectious diseases, you don’t catch it from someone else. Most people had chickenpox when they were young. The virus that caused chickenpox can stay in your body for the rest of your life without you knowing it is there. The virus can then become active again later in life. It is not known exactly why it does this, but most cases are thought to be caused by having lowered immunity (protection against infections and diseases), which may be due to age, illness, stress or medication. 

Shingles is caused when a nerve and the area of skin around it becomes re-infected by the virus, resulting in clusters of painful, itchy, fluid-filled blisters. The fluid from these blisters can spread chickenpox to those who have not had it. 

If you have shingles, try to avoid: 

• pregnant women who have not had chickenpox before 
• people with a weakened immune system (for example, people having chemotherapy), and 
• babies less than one month old – unless it’s your own baby, as they should be protected from the virus by your immune system. 

Shingles is more common in adults aged over 70.  

About 1 in 5 people who have had chickenpox will develop shingles. This means that every year in England and Wales, tens of thousands of people will have shingles. Although shingles can occur at any age, the risk, severity and complications of shingles all increase with age. 

Each year a number of people aged 65 and over are admitted to hospital with shingles in Wales.  

The shingles vaccine helps to protect you by boosting your immunity and reducing your risk of getting shingles. If you do go on to have shingles, your symptoms may be milder and the illness shorter. 

The shingles vaccine is provided in two doses, around two months apart.

Please check your eligibility here

Pneumococcal

Pneumococcal infection is caused by pneumococcal bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae) and can cause serious illnesses, such as sepsis and meningitis.

Some individuals carry pneumococcal bacteria in the back of their nose and throat and can pass them around by coughing, sneezing, and close contact. Usually, this doesn’t result in serious illness, but it can lead to pneumococcal infection, including pneumococcal meningitis.

People aged 65 or over and individuals with certain health conditions have a higher chance of becoming unwell with pneumococcal infection. They are more likely to suffer serious long-term health problems from pneumococcal infection and can even die. These groups are offered a pneumococcal vaccination on the NHS. It’s a safe vaccine that can help prevent some of the serious types of pneumococcal infections.

The pneumococcal vaccine is available for all patients aged 65 and over who have not previously been immunised.