“This new protection will give parents reassurance"
A chickenpox vaccine is being rolled out on the NHS for the first time, marking a major change to routine childhood immunisation.
The jab will be offered to children alongside the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella, as a combined MMRV dose.
The combination vaccine has been available for years in countries including the US, Canada, and Australia, and health experts have welcomed the move.
The rollout follows a recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in 2023. In England alone, hundreds of thousands of children have been eligible from January 2, 2026.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “Many families have faced the threat of chickenpox, which can cause serious complications.
“The disease also brings significant worry and disruption, with children missing nursery or school and parents forced to stay home to look after them.
“This new protection will give parents reassurance that their children are protected from a disease that sends thousands to hospital every year.
“Families will save both time and money, no longer facing lost income from taking time off work or having to fork out for private vaccinations.”
Children born on or after January 1, 2025, will be offered two doses of MMRV at 12 months and 18 months.
Those born between July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, will receive one dose at 18 months and another at three years, four months.
Children born between September 1, 2022, and June 30, 2024, will be offered one dose at three years, four months.
A single-dose catch-up programme is also planned for children born between January 1, 2020, and August 31, 2022.
NHS England said GPs will contact families through the routine childhood vaccination programme.
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, deputy director of immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency, said the jab “has been shown to be highly effective” in other countries, “with a good safety profile”.
Dr Claire Fuller, national medical director for NHS England, said: “This is a hugely positive moment for children and their families, providing protection against chickenpox for the first time and adding to the arsenal of routine vaccinations we give to children to safeguard them against serious illnesses.”
She added that the vaccine will “keep more children safe and in school”.
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