Chickenpox jab to be offered on NHS amid warning kids starting school unprotected

Children will be offered a chickenpox vaccine on the NHS for the first time from January.

Health chiefs have decided to add the vaccine against the varicella zoster virus to the existing combined measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) jab. It comes as childhood vaccination rates are plummeting and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) warns many children will be starting primary schoolunprotected against a range of serious diseases.

Chickenpox is common and usually mild, getting better on its own, but in rare cases children can develop complications such as bacterial infections like group A strep. The virus can cause swelling of the brain, serious lung inflammation and stroke and in very rare cases lead to death.

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Until now parents concerned about chickenpox have had to pay around £150 at private clinics for their child to be vaccinated against it. Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, UKHSA deputy director of immunisation, said: "Most parents probably consider chickenpox to be a common and mild illness, but for some babies, young children and even adults, chickenpox can be very serious, leading to hospital admission and tragically, while rare, it can be fatal.

"It is excellent news, that from next January, we will be introducing a vaccine to protect against chickenpox into the NHS routine childhood vaccination programme - helping prevent what is for most a nasty illness and for those who develop severe symptoms, it could be a life saver."

The chickenpox vaccine - also known as the varicella jab - will form part of a new combined MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella and varicella) vaccine. It will be offered at GP practices from January 2026, and is expected to offer protection to around 500,000 at risk children every year. The NHS is yet to decide what the eligibility criteria will be. The MMRV will eventually replace the MMR, which is offered to babies at 12 months and 18 months.

It is the first time protection against another disease has been added to the routine childhood vaccination programme since 2015. The announcement comes as the UKHSA revealed none of the main childhood vaccines in England reached the 95% uptake target in 2024/25. Some 91.9% of five-year-olds had received one dose of the MMR vaccine, unchanged from 2023/24 and the lowest level since 2010/11.

Just 83.7% of five-year-olds had received both MMR doses, down year on year from 83.9% and the lowest level since 2009/10. Uptake of the first MMR dose at 24 months stood at 88.9% in 2024/25 - unchanged on the previous year, but again the lowest figure since 2009/10.

Dr Mary Ramsay, UKHSA director of immunisation, said: "Far too many children will not be fully protected and safe when starting school and are at risk of serious diseases, such as measles and whooping cough, that have in recent years caused outbreaks. Measles, being the most infectious disease, is the 'canary in the coalmine' and a wake-up call that urgent action is needed to stop the very real risk of other diseases re-emerging.

"Parents should check their children are up to date with all their jabs and, if not, contact their GP practice as soon as possible." The chickenpox vaccine is already part of the routine vaccine schedules in a number of countries, including Germany, Australia, Canada and the US.

According to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), chickenpox causes an estimated £24 million in lost income and productivity every year in the UK, with parents forced to take time off work to care for their children. The rollout of the vaccine is also expected to save the NHS £15 million a year in costs for treating the illness.

Health minister Stephen Kinnock said: "We're giving parents the power to protect their children from chickenpox and its serious complications, while keeping them in nursery or the classroom where they belong and preventing parents from scrambling for childcare or having to miss work. This vaccine puts children's health first and gives working families the support they deserve."