The US Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine, made by Merck, earlier this year.

All people over 60 should receive the vaccine, recommends the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, provided they have never had shingles and are currently not suffering from it.

Shingles affects about half a million people in the US each year, most of them elderly.

It usually takes the form of a blistering skin rash that disappears after a few weeks, but about 20 percent of sufferers develop severe long-term nerve pain.

Scarring and loss of vision or hearing are among the potential complications.

In some cases, shingles can cause such excruciating pain that victims have become suicidal.