Vienna doctors call for more shingles vaccine

Vienna doctors are again calling for increased supplies of the shingles vaccine, which has been free since 2025 for people aged 60 and over and for risk groups, ORF reported. The Vienna Medical Chamber said surgeries have faced difficulties ordering the vaccine for almost a year.

Although about one in three people in Austria develops shingles during their lifetime and can suffer painful complications, the free vaccine is not always available, said Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied, vice-president of the chamber. Small quantities have appeared sporadically and sometimes without notice in the e-Impfshop, a vaccination ordering system. She described the situation as a “vaccine lottery”.

The Health Ministry rejected the chamber’s criticism. It said 900,000 doses had been made available and more than 633,000 vaccinations had been recorded since November 2025, when the vaccine became free. Further doses are being procured for the coming months, State Secretary for Health Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig said in a statement.

Between international deliveries, individual surgeries may temporarily be unable to place immediate repeat orders, but that did not mean the vaccination programme was failing, Königsberger-Ludwig said. The vaccine is produced internationally and purchased on the global market. Austria is continuously placing new orders, although it cannot buy unlimited quantities at any price, she said.

Austria records about 30,000 to 40,000 shingles cases each year. The vaccine is an important protective measure for people aged 60 and over and for medical risk groups against a painful and prolonged illness, said chamber president Johannes Steinhart.

Shingles causes a painful, one-sided rash with fluid-filled blisters. In severe cases, it can affect the eyes, ears or face. Postherpetic neuralgia can also occur after the rash has healed, causing severe nerve pain that often cannot be completely cured.