Welsh children to access free chickenpox vaccine

ALL young children in Wales will be offered a free chickenpox vaccine by the NHS from next January, it has been revealed.

- By STEVE BAGNALL Daily Post Reporter

The varicella jab, also known as the chickenpox vaccine, will be included in a new combined MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella and varicella) vaccine.

The MMRV vaccine, set to replace the current MMR vaccine, will be administered to children in two doses at 12 and 18 months of age. Until this point, parents wishing to safeguard their children against the virus, which causes red and itchy spots, had to shell out approximately £150 for the jab at private clinics and pharmacies.

Government officials anticipate the move will not only shield some children from severe complications arising from the virus but also prevent parents from having to take time off work to care for their infected children.