Private Shingles Vaccine in London: The Complete Shingrix Guide

Shingles has a way of arriving at the worst possible time, and for a lot of people in London the vaccine that prevents it sits out of reach on the NHS. If you’re in your fifties or early sixties, the programme doesn’t include you yet. If you turned 65 before September 2023, your invitation won’t come until you’re 70. The private route exists for exactly these gaps, and it uses the same vaccine the NHS does.

This guide covers everything we discuss in a shingles consultation at our West Ealing clinic: what the vaccine is, how well it works, what it costs, who it suits and who should hold off. The price is £220 per dose, £440 for the full two-dose course, and it’s published here rather than quoted on request.

On this page:
What shingles is
The vaccine
Who it’s for
Price
NHS or private
Side effects
Your appointment
FAQs

What shingles actually is, and why it’s worth preventing

Shingles is a reactivation of the chickenpox virus. Around nine in ten UK adults carry that virus from childhood, dormant in the nerve tissue and held in check by the immune system. As that hold weakens with age, the virus can wake, travelling along a nerve to the skin as a painful, blistering rash, usually on one side of the body.

One person in four gets shingles in their lifetime. Age is the biggest risk factor, though stress, illness and immune-suppressing treatment all play a part, which is why it tends to arrive at life’s low points. Exactly when nobody has a month to spare.

The vaccine: Shingrix

Shingrix is a recombinant vaccine. It contains no live virus, so it cannot cause shingles or chickenpox, and it pairs a single viral protein with an adjuvant that provokes a strong, durable immune response. That design is what separates it from the previous generation of shingles vaccine, which reduced cases by roughly half. If you’ve seen “more than 50% effective” quoted somewhere, that figure belongs to the older vaccine, not this one.

In the clinical trials that led to its approval, run across 18 countries, published in the New England Journal of Medicine and covering more than 29,000 adults, Shingrix reduced shingles cases by 97% in adults aged 50 and over, and by 91% in adults over 70. It was similarly protective against post-herpetic neuralgia. Long-term follow-up published by the manufacturer shows protection holding at 89% across the first ten years after vaccination, and no booster is currently recommended. We’ve set out what the Shingrix trial data actually shows in a separate guide, including how the numbers were reached.

The NHS has used Shingrix in its own programme since September 2023, so the private route isn’t a different or lesser product. It’s the same vaccine, available on your timetable rather than a cohort schedule.

Check availability and book your shingles vaccination, or call us on 0208 567 0982 if you’d like to talk it through first.

Who the private shingles vaccine is for

The NHS covers narrow cohorts. The private vaccine exists for everyone else, and “everyone else” turns out to be most adults over 50 in London. If any of the following sounds like you, you don’t need to wait for anyone’s permission to be protected.

If you’re 50 to 64 and otherwise healthy, the NHS programme doesn’t currently include you at all. The vaccine is licensed from 50 because that’s where risk starts climbing, and this is the largest group we vaccinate privately.

If you’re 68 or 69, you’re in the least intuitive position of all. NHS eligibility at 65 only applies to people who turned 65 on or after 1 September 2023. Turn 65 a day earlier and your NHS invitation doesn’t come until you’re 70, a wait of up to five years, through the ages when risk is rising.

If you’re 80 or over, NHS eligibility ended at your 80th birthday. Privately there’s no upper age limit, and the trial data in the over-70s is strong.

If you’re eligible on the NHS but haven’t been called yet, or you’d rather complete the course sooner, the private schedule runs two months between doses, where the NHS schedule for most people runs six to twelve. Some people simply want it done before a particular date, a big trip, a house move, a new grandchild, and that’s a reasonable use of the private route too.

The full cohort rules are in our guide to who qualifies for the free NHS shingles vaccine and who has to pay. If the free route is open to you, take it. If it isn’t, the rest of this page is yours.

The course and the price

Shingrix is a course of two doses, given two months apart. At our clinic each dose is £220, so the full course is £440. The second dose matters: the trial figures above are based on both doses, and finishing the course is what buys the long-duration protection.

Across London, private clinics typically charge between £200 and £250 per dose, so a completed course generally lands between £400 and £500. Our price is £220 per dose, the same for both doses. We’ve broken down what the shingles vaccine costs in the UK, and what to check when you compare clinics, in a separate guide.

Spread over the ten years of protection shown in the follow-up data, £440 works out at £44 a year. Against an illness with no cure and a one-in-four lifetime probability, most people we see consider that a reasonable trade. But it’s a personal decision, and it’s why we publish the price rather than asking you to enquire.

NHS or private: the two routes side by side

Both routes use the same vaccine. Everything else about them is different, and the differences mostly point one way.

Free wins on price, if the rules include you and you’re happy to wait for them. On everything else, the private column is the faster door, and it’s open to everyone from 50.

When’s the right time to have it?

There’s no shingles season, so the practical answer is: when you can give the course two months of ordinary life. The second dose follows two months after the first, and protection in the trials was measured from a month after that, so if you want cover in place for something specific, a long trip, a house move, a winter you’d rather not spend ill, count back three months and book then.

The pattern we see most often, and the one worth avoiding, is deferral. Shingles risk doesn’t wait for a convenient year, and the decade between 50 and 60, when the NHS offers nothing, is precisely when the risk curve starts to climb. If you’ve read this far and you’re eligible for nothing on the NHS, the right time is unlikely to improve on now.

Who should avoid the shingles vaccine

The vaccine is not suitable for people who have had a severe allergic reaction to a previous dose of a shingles vaccine, who are allergic to any of its ingredients, or who have had a serious allergic reaction to the chickenpox vaccine.

If you currently have shingles, vaccination waits until the episode has settled. And if you have a weakened immune system, whether from a condition or from treatment, the vaccine itself is suitable because it contains no live virus, but the assessment matters more. We’ll go through your circumstances at the appointment and involve your GP where that’s the right thing to do.

Side effects: what to expect

Shingrix works by provoking a strong immune response, and you may feel it doing so. A sore arm is the most common effect by far, reported by around three quarters of people in the trials. Tiredness, aching muscles, a headache, shivering or a mild fever can follow, and for most people any of this settles within two to three days. A minority, roughly one in six in the trial data, had a day or two where the reaction interfered with normal activities.

Our practical advice is to book your dose when the following day can be a quiet one, and to treat a noticeable reaction as unremarkable rather than alarming. We’ve written up what to expect after your Shingrix dose in detail, including the second-dose question everyone asks.

What happens at your appointment

The appointment is unhurried and there’s no referral needed, from your GP or anyone else. We start with a short assessment: your age, your health, any medication, any history of shingles or reactions to vaccines. If everything points the right way, the first dose is given there and then, and we book your second for two months later before you leave.

You’ll find us at 30 Northfield Avenue, West Ealing, a short walk from Northfields station on the Piccadilly line. If you’re weighing up whether the vaccine is right for you at all, book the appointment anyway. The assessment is the mechanism for answering exactly that question, and we would rather talk someone out of a vaccine they don’t need than into one they do.

Book your appointment online or call 0208 567 0982.

Questions we’re asked most about the private shingles vaccine

Can I have the vaccine if I’m under 50?
Shingrix is licensed from age 50 for most people. Adults younger than that with a severely weakened immune system are a special case, now covered by the NHS from age 18, and if that’s you the right first conversation is with your specialist or GP.

Do I need a referral or a prescription?
No. Book directly with us, and the assessment happens at the appointment.

I’ve already had shingles. Should I still be vaccinated?
Usually yes. Shingles can recur, and a past episode doesn’t give reliable lifelong protection. We’d wait until the current episode has fully settled before vaccinating, and we’ll advise on timing at your appointment.

Is the private vaccine the same as the NHS one?
Yes. Shingrix is the vaccine used in the NHS programme, and it’s the vaccine we hold.

Can I have it at the same time as a flu or Covid jab?
Usually, yes. Tell us what you’ve had recently and what’s booked, and we’ll confirm the right spacing for your situation.

What if I only have one dose?
One dose gives some protection, but the trial results, including the ten-year durability data, are based on the full two-dose course. If you start the course, finish it.

Can I catch shingles from someone who has it?
No. Shingles comes from a virus already inside you. Someone with shingles can, however, pass chickenpox to a person who has never had it, through contact with the rash.

Will I need a booster later?
No booster is currently recommended. Protection has been shown to hold for at least ten years, and that’s simply as far as the follow-up studies have reached so far.

I don’t remember having chickenpox. Does that matter?
Usually not. Around nine in ten UK adults have had it, many as infections too mild or too early to remember, and you don’t need proof of it to be vaccinated. If there’s reason to think you’ve never had chickenpox at all, mention it at the appointment and we’ll advise.

Do both doses have to be at the same clinic?
It’s simplest, because your record and your schedule stay in one place. If you’ve had a first dose elsewhere, bring the record and we can usually complete the course.

Prices correct as of August 2026. This article is general information, not personal medical advice. Whether the shingles vaccine is right for you depends on your health and history, so please speak to our team before making a decision.