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

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

Experts say the new, combined vaccine called MMRV, where V stands for varicella – another name for chickenpox – is expected to reduce the many thousands of families affected by the infection each year and prevent the most severe cases.

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

From 1 January, the MMRV vaccine will be introduced into the standard list of children’s vaccinations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with Scotland announcing a rollout start date in early January.

Chickenpox is very common in young children. The main feature is an itchy, spotty rash which blisters then scabs over. It can be painful, and cover the body from head to toe. Children often feel unwell for several days, with a fever and muscle aches.

It also spreads easily. Some 90% of children under the age of 10 catch chickenpox at some point, and a week off school or nursery is fairly common.

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

“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,” she said.

Complications can include bacterial infection of scabs, and much more rarely, a swelling of the brain known as encephalitis, lung inflammation known as pnemonitis, and stroke.

Young babies and adults are more likely to be seriously ill with the infection. Pregnant women are particularly at risk because of potential complications in both the mother and unborn baby.

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

“She collapsed and her arm and leg went all floppy and then she started to have a seizure,” Ms Horton, who lives in Plymouth, said.

Beth has had to live with many of the consequences ever since – she can’t use her right hand, has speech difficulties and lives in pain, her mother said.

“I know some people are hesitant about vaccines but if I’d known years ago what I know now, I wouldn’t hesitate to give her the vaccine.

“As a mum, if you could go back in time and stop something catastrophic happening to them, you absolutely would.

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

Dr Claire Fuller, NHS England’s national medical director, 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 offer of the vaccine, describing the rollout as a “historic milestone in protecting our children’s health” from a disease that “sends thousands to hospital every year”.

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

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

The UK has been lagging behind for various reasons. There were concerns over the costs of a UK-wide vaccination programme and a potential rise in cases of shingles – when the chickenpox virus is reactivated in adulthood – but that has not been found to be an issue 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 every year in the UK due to chickenpox in childhood, NHS England says. It also calculates that the vaccine rollout could save £15 million a year in NHS treatment costs.

For all those reasons, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises UK health departments, recommended the introduction of the vaccine on the NHS in November 2023.

“Families will save both time and money – no longer facing lost income from taking time off work or having to fork out for private vaccinations,” Streeting said.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said it was “welcome 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 jabs were “some of the most important health interventions parents can make for their children”.

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

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

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

• children born on or after 1 January 2025 will be offered two doses, one at 12 months and one at 18 months
• children born between 1 July 2024 and 31 December 2024 will be offered two doses, one at 18 months and another at the age of 3 years and 4 months
• children born between 1 September 2022 and 30 June 2024 will be offered one dose at 3 years and 4 months
• children born between 1 January 2020 and 31 August 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 the MMRV because they are likely to already have had a chickenpox infection.

GP surgeries will contact families to arrange an appointment when the vaccinations are due.