Amitabh Bachchan partners with GSK for shingles awareness & prevention

New Delhi: GSK has announced a partnership with veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan to raise awareness about shingles, a painful condition that affects 1 out of 3 adults above the age of 50 years.

The campaign film evocatively captures the agonizing pain caused by shingles and its debilitating impact on the people living with it. It gives an important message that it is possible to protect ageing adults against this pain through vaccination.

Commenting on the partnership, Amitabh Bachchan said, “Shingles is known to be painful and thus certainly a setback to senior citizens. For prevention against Shingles, I recommend the Senior Citizens to talk to their doctors.”

Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. The virus remains inactive in the body after a person recovers from it. When the immunity of the body weakens, it re-activates to cause shingles. More than 90% of Indians by the age of 50 years have this virus in their body and are vulnerable to shingles.

Dr Rashmi Hegde, Medical Director, GSK, said, “Amitabh Bachchan has been the face of several disease and vaccination awareness campaigns before, and his support has motivated people to take the required action to prevent these diseases. Today, India’s ageing population is rising, and we need to make them aware of diseases such as shingles which can impact their quality of life. We believe this will persuade more people to talk to their doctors about protecting themselves or their loved ones from shingles.”