The jab, which currently costs around £150 at private clinics and pharmacies, will form part of a new combined immunisation on the childhood vaccination programme.
Chickenpox is a common childhood illness and is usually mild. The main symptom is an itchy, spotty rash over the body, but before this appears, children may have a high temperature, a loss of appetite, and may feel generally unwell.
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 children every year.
None of the main childhood vaccines in England reached the 95 per cent uptake target in 2024-25, figures show (Photo: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, deputy director of immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said the move “could be a life saver”. Chicken pox causes around 20 deaths in the UK each year.
£24m in lost income and productivity
The announcement ties in with the Government’s wider ambition to raise “the healthiest generation of children ever” as part of its Plan for Change. Ministers aim to boost the nation’s health and ensure the future sustainability of the NHS as it shifts the focus of healthcare from sickness to prevention.
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.”
square NEWS Fact CheckI'm a GP - this is what you need to know about the MMR jab
Read More
Helen Bedford, Professor of Children’s Health at UCL, said: “Research has shown that UK parents will welcome the vaccine and can be reassured that it is highly effective and has a good safety record having been used in the USA for 30 years.”
Some 91.9 per cent of five-year-olds had received one dose of the MMR vaccine, unchanged from 2023-24 and the lowest level since 2010-11, according to the UKHSA.
Just 83.7 per cent of five-year-olds had received both MMR doses, down year on year from 83.9 per cent and the lowest level since 2009-10. Uptake of the first MMR dose at 24 months stood at 88.9 per cent in 2024-25 – unchanged on the previous year, but again the lowest figure since 2009-10.
Good news but will parents pay attention?
Most parents will know the frustration of having to give up days of work to look after children brought down by chickenpox. The common childhood illness is behind £24m in lost productivity and income plus an additional £15m in treatment costs.
The Government has promised to “raise the healthiest generation of children ever” as part of its Plan for Change so it makes sense to add the chickenpox to the routine immunisation programme from January onwards.
The chickenpox vaccine – also known as the varicella jab – will form part of a new combined MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella and varicella) vaccine and replace the MMR vaccine. The new MMRV jab is expected to offer protection to around 500,000 children every year.
Sadly though, many parents will fail to get it, as they do with other routine vaccines that are safe and provide immunisation against potentially fatal illness.
Figures published on Thursday revealed that just 83.7 per cent of five-year-olds had received both MMR doses, down year on year from 83.9 per cent and the lowest level since 2009-10. The Government’s target, in line with the World Health Organisation, is 95 per cent.
A combination of post-pandemic vaccine fatigure and the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories online has served to keep childhood vaccination rates stubbornly below target and does not appear to be changing anytime soon. More effort will be needed to ensure children do not miss out on a safe and effective vaccine that has been used for many years in Europe and North America.
Hence then, the article about free chickenpox vaccination to be offered to children in england from january was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Free chickenpox vaccination to be offered to children in England from January )
Also on site :