As Korea enters an aging society, the social and economic burden of rising medical expenses is increasing. Last year, medical expenses for the elderly (65 years and older) totaled 41.3829 trillion won, accounting for 43.4 percent of total medical expenses.
The importance of strengthening adult vaccination to cope with an aging society is increasing. Experts stress that vaccination against shingles, Japanese encephalitis, pertussis, pneumococcus, measles and hepatitis A needs to be expanded to cope with an aging population and rising chronic diseases.
Shingles is considered one of the most common diseases associated with aging. Herpes zoster is characterized by the appearance of a band-shaped rash and characteristic bullous lesions on the skin within days of onset, accompanied by severe pain. A bigger problem is postherpetic neuralgia. If not vaccinated or not treated properly, you may be more likely to progress to postherpetic neuralgia.
The reason why prophylactic vaccination is recommended to prevent the onset of shingles and reduce the risk of sequelae after onset is that it can reduce the risk of its onset by more than half, and even if it does occur, it helps to reduce pain and major complications. In addition, as a result of a research team led by Professor Won-Seok Choi of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Korea University School of Medicine, the free live shingles vaccine for seniors over the age of 65 is convenient result. As a result, major developed countries such as the UK, Germany, Canada and Australia have included the shingles vaccine in their national mandatory vaccinations. As a consensus formed on the need for a shingles vaccine in Korea, the number of local governments supporting the shingles vaccine increased from just two in 2017 to about 60 in 2019.
Currently, shingles vaccines available in Korea include MSD’s Zostavax and SK Bioscience’s Skyzoster. GSK’s Shingrix will also land in Korea. With a three-way battle expected, Skyzoster, a domestic vaccine, is expanding its market presence. Sales of Sky Zoster in the first half of the year were KRW 8.8 billion, up 6.7% from the previous year. In the second quarter of last year, the total market share was 43.4%, recording the highest market share since its release.
Following the recent post-marketing investigation by the Ministry of Food and Pharmaceutical Safety, it is known that there have been no “serious adverse events following administration” of Skyzoster. With the announcement of these safety results, experts predict that it will be able to steadily lead the market share.
