The 2023-24 Federal Budget has allocated $446.7 million to replace Zostaxav with Shingrix, a different zoster (shingles) vaccine, on the National Immunisation Program (NIP).
Shingrix is an inactivated vaccine whereas Zostavax is a live-attenuated vaccine, unsafe for immunosuppressed people. This means people with immunocompromise will now be able to access funded protection against the development of herpes zoster.
Further details regarding which populations will be able to access Shingrix on the NIP have not been announced.