Chickenpox jab offered to children for first time

A VACCINE which protects against chickenpox is to be rolled out across the NHS for the first time.

- ELLA PICKOVER

Youngsters across the UK will be offered the vaccine along with the MMR jab

(Nick Potts/PA)

Youngsters across the UK will now be offered the vaccine along with the MMR jab, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.

Health experts welcomed the news, saying chickenpox can be "very serious" for some.

The rollout of the vaccine could also help reduce the burden on families, they said, with many parents forced to take time off work to care for their children while they are sick.

The combined jab has been used in other countries for decades and is part of routine childhood vaccines in the US, Canada, Australia and Germany.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the Press Association: "This is going to make a real difference for children and families right across our country, because while chickenpox can be irritable and difficult for children, it can also be extremely serious and occasionally even fatal.

"The great thing about this new vaccine is that it combines the vaccine for chickenpox with MMR, which means that families can access this jab for their children, aged between 12 and 18 months.

"It's going to make a real difference.

"It's going to reach so many children, young people, keeping them healthy, making sure their parents don't have to take weeks off work dealing with an irritable and unwell child."

The rollout across the four nations of the UK comes after the combined MMRV jab was recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in 2023.