Shingles Vaccinations

Shingles is a painful skin rash that usually appears around your chest and back, but can also affect your legs or face. It appears on only one side of your body.

Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. The Shingles vaccine protects against herpes zoster (shingles) infection. 

About one-third of people will develop shingles in their lifetime; 50% by the time they reach age 85 years.

Are you eligible for a Free Vaccination?

Many of our enrolled patients are eligible for a FREE Shingles Vaccination. 

How we can help you

Who's eligibile for FREE Shingles vaccination:

  • Men and women aged 65 years
  • Non-eligible Vaccinations: 2 doses, 6 months apart. $350 per dose, $700 in total.

After you recover from chickenpox, the virus stays in your body. It moves to the roots of your nerve cells (near the spinal cord) and becomes inactive (dormant). Later, if the virus becomes active again, shingles is the name given to the symptoms it causes. 


You can only get shingles if you’ve had chickenpox in the past (usually as a child). While anyone who has recovered from chickenpox may develop shingles, the risk of shingles increases as you get older. 


It is not known what exactly causes the virus to become active again, but the risk of getting shingles is greater in people with a weakened immune system. 


You can’t catch shingles from someone else. However, if you’ve never had chickenpox, or received the chickenpox vaccine, you can catch chickenpox from close contact with someone who has shingles, because the shingles blisters contain the chickenpox virus. 

More Information

Enrol your family at HillMed Health Centre

Book your appointment with us. Or if you haven't, register with HillMed Health Centre today.