Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the article published in Cell on 2 December, The effect of shingles vaccination at different stages of the dementia disease course, which suggests a causal relationship between shingles vaccination and a lower risk of developing dementia and further advancement of dementia following diagnosis; and in the light of that, what plans they have to request that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation reconsider the current availability of the shingles vaccination on the NHS.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Following a request from the Department, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) briefly discussed the emerging evidence on the link between shingles vaccination and dementia in its June 2025 meeting.

It was noted that results were consistent across different vaccines and different observational studies and had some potential biological plausibility. However, based on currently available data, this possible benefit was not quantifiable due to the high chance of bias in many of these observational studies.

For these reasons, no change to the current JCVI recommendation on shingles vaccination could be advised at this time. The JCVI continues to monitor emerging evidence relating to all immunisation programmes, including on the potential link between shingles vaccination and dementia, keeping its advice under review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 19 December 2025 (HL12718), whether they will ask the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to set up a subcommittee on dementia to assess the evidence regarding vaccination against various infections and reduced risk of dementia.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The independent departmental expert committee, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the Government on matters relating to vaccination and immunisation.

At this time, there are no plans to establish a JCVI sub-committee on dementia.

However, the JCVI continues to monitor emerging evidence relating to all immunisation programmes and, where appropriate, this can include evidence on a potential link between vaccination and reduced risk of dementia.

It is possible for evidence on the link between vaccination and the reduced risk of dementia to be assessed within the existing committee structure, as was the case when research studies suggesting a link between shingles vaccination and reduced dementia risk were considered by the committee last year.