Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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588. To ask the Minister for Health if an injection (details supplied) which lessens the chances of contracting shingles is covered under the GMS; if not the reason it is not; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41542/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Health Service Executive (HSE) has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicines under the community drug schemes, in accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013.

The HSE does not supply vaccines or provide reimbursement support for vaccines through community pharmacies under the statutory drug schemes. When the public health imperative to support particular vaccines to defined cohorts becomes national policy, vaccines are directly procured by the HSE and supplied through the national vaccine distribution arrangements to GPs for eligible cohorts.

The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). The committee's recommendations are based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practice in relation to immunisation.

The NIAC continues to revise recommendations to allow for the introduction of new vaccines in Ireland and to keep abreast of changes in the patterns of disease. Therefore, the immunisation schedule will continue to be amended over time. Shingles vaccination is not currently provided as part of the national immunisation programme.

However, it is open to an individual to source a vaccine from a GP or pharmacy, where available, outside of the national immunisation programme on the basis of a private arrangement.