A new single-dose vaccine that prevents tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough) in those older than 65 has been approved, the Food and Drug Administration announced Friday.

Prior to the approval of Boostrix, only tetanus and diphtheria vaccines were approved for this age group. Pertussis has become a greater concern in recent years, with large local outbreaks affecting California, Michigan and Ohio in 2010. FDA officials warn that nursing home residents are particularly susceptible to this highly contagious disease. Boostrix is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals.

In other vaccine news, public health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been vocal in their concern that substantial numbers of people over the age of 60 are not being vaccinated against shingles. The vaccine, called Zostavax, was approved five years ago, but experts say vaccination rates have been bogged down due to insufficient supply and only modest demand, The New York Times reported. Zostavax is manufactured by the drug maker Merck.

“It really, really has been frustrating,” CDC epidemiologist Rafael Harpaz, M.D., told the newspaper, “There hasn’t been a single year since the vaccine was licensed in 2006 that there’s been no problem with supply.”

According to federal survey results, only 10% of adults over 60 got the vaccination in 2009, whereas two-thirds of adults over 65 got the flu shot that year. Shingles causes chickenpox-like lesions to appear on a person’s skin, which can last 7 to 10 days. If it isn’t treated quickly or effectively enough, it can lead to debilitating long-term nerve damage. The incidence of shingles rises 33% in people over the age of 79, the Times reported.