Chickenpox vaccines for NHS children start across the UK

All young children in the UK can now be offered protection against chickenpox on the NHS for the first time.

The vaccine will be combined with the existing MMR vaccine, given at ages 12 and 18 months, which already helps protect against measles, mumps and rubella. Children up to the age of six can catch up when invited.

Experts say the new combination vaccine called MMRV, where V stands for varicella – another name for chicken pox – should reduce the number of thousands of families affected by the infection each year and prevent the most serious cases.

Until now, parents had to pay up to £200 to purchase a vaccine privately to protect their children.

From January 1, the MMRV vaccine will be introduced into the standard childhood vaccination list in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with Scotland announcing a start date for the rollout in early January.

Chickenpox is very common in young children. The main feature is an itchy, pimple-like rash that blisters and then crusts. It can be painful and cover the body from head to toe. Children often feel sick for several days, with fever and muscle pain.

It also spreads easily. Around 90% of children under the age of 10 get chickenpox at some point, and missing a week from school or daycare is quite common.

But it can develop into something more serious, warns Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, deputy director of immunization at the UK Health Security Agency.

“For some babies, young children and even adults, chickenpox can be very serious, leading to hospitalization and, tragically, although rare, it can be fatal,” she said.

Complications can include bacterial infection of the scabs and, much more rarely, swelling of the brain called encephalitis, lung inflammation called pneumonitis, and stroke.

Young babies and adults are more likely to become seriously ill from the infection. Pregnant women are particularly at risk due to potential complications for both the mother and the unborn baby.

Maria Horton’s daughter Beth was just two and a half years old when she had a stroke in the weeks after she had chickenpox.

“She collapsed and her arm and leg went limp and then she started having a seizure,” said Ms Horton, who lives in Plymouth.

Since then, Beth has had to live with many consequences: she cannot use her right hand, has speech difficulties and lives in pain, her mother said.

“I know some people are hesitant to get vaccinated, but if I had known years ago what I know now, I wouldn’t hesitate to give him the vaccine.

“As a mom, if you could turn back time and prevent something catastrophic from happening to them, you absolutely would.

“And if I could stop anyone else from going through what Beth did, that would be amazing.”

Dr Claire Fuller, national medical director for NHS England, said providing protection against chickenpox was “a hugely positive moment for children and their families”.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting urged all parents to take up the vaccine offer, describing the rollout as a “historic step in protecting our children’s health” from a disease that “sends thousands of people to hospital every year”.

The MMRV vaccine has been used safely for decades in other countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and Germany, all of which have seen a decrease in the number of people with chickenpox and a decrease in severe cases.

The part of the vaccine that protects against chickenpox has been shown to be very effective – about 97% after two doses – and long-lasting.

The UK is lagging behind for a variety of reasons. Concerns have been raised about the costs of a UK-wide vaccination program and a potential increase in cases of shingles – when the chickenpox virus is reactivated in adulthood – but this has not proven to be a problem after many years of vaccination in the US.

Recent research also shows the scale of the impact of chickenpox on children and the NHS. An estimated £24 million in income and productivity is lost each year in the UK due to chickenpox in children, according to NHS England. It also calculates that rolling out the vaccine could save £15m a year in NHS treatment costs.

For these reasons, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI), which advises the UK health service, has recommended the introduction of the vaccine into the NHS in November 2023.

“Families will save time and money – they will no longer face loss of income due to time off work or having to pay out-of-pocket for private vaccines,” Streeting said.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said it was “good news” that a vaccine was being rolled out across the UK.

Meanwhile, the Royal College of GPs said all NHS childhood vaccines were safe and effective, adding that vaccines were “some of the most important health interventions parents can do for their children”.

Protection against chickenpox is offered by a new combination vaccine called MMRV, which will replace the current MMR vaccine. This combination vaccine helps protect against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (chickenpox).

Children born after January 1, 2026 will automatically be offered two doses of MMRV vaccine at 12 months and 18 months.

A catch-up program will offer one or two doses to older children, depending on their date of birth:

• children born from January 1, 2025 will be offered two doses, one at 12 months and one at 18 months
• children born between July 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024 will be offered two doses, one at 18 months and another at the age of 3 years and 4 months
• children born between September 1, 2022 and June 30, 2024 will be offered a dose at 3 years and 4 months
• children born between January 1, 2020 and August 31, 2022 will be offered a single dose later in 2026

Children aged six or older on the last day of 2025 will not be eligible for MMRV because they will likely have already had a chickenpox infection.

GP practices will contact families to arrange an appointment on the scheduled vaccination date.