Effect of COVID-19 on uptake of herpes zoster vaccination - V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on uptake of herpes zoster vaccination and changes in vaccination-related health outcomes
IRAS ID
334804
Contact name
Pascal Geldsetzer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Stanford University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected how people use and get healthcare services. In 2013, a vaccine for herpes zoster (shingles) became available in the UK. Before the pandemic, not many people in the target age group got the vaccine (less than half). We don't know much about how the pandemic has influenced vaccine uptake. Recently, researchers have found connections between the virus that causes shingles and the vaccine with some chronic conditions like heart disease and brain diseases. Using data from OpenSAFELY, a highly secure, transparent platform for the analysis of primary care data sourced from SystmOne and EMIS electronic health records, we have two goals: 1) to see how the pandemic affected the number of people who got the shingles vaccine, and 2) to estimate the impact of changes in vaccine uptake during the pandemic on the number of shingles cases, and the occurrence of heart disease, stroke, and dementia. The study will use different methods to analyse the data, such as looking at how the vaccine uptake changed over time during the pandemic and comparing it to before the pandemic. The researchers will also use vaccine eligibility cohorts based on birth months to better understand the true effects of the vaccine. This research project has the ambition to inform future decision making regarding potential interruptions to service delivery in the NHS.
REC name
London - Hampstead Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0940
Date of REC Opinion
13 Nov 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion