Just 83.7 per cent of five-year-olds have received both doses of MMR and this falls to 58 per cent in Hackney, London, which has the worst rate in the country.<\/p>\n
None of the key childhood vaccines in England reached the 95 per cent uptake target last year, according to annual figures. <\/p>\n
The chickenpox jab is the first to be added to the routine NHS schedule since 2015. <\/p>\n
It has been used in Australia and the US for several years. The NHS had not followed suit because of a concern that a childhood vaccination programme might mean people who had not been exposed to the virus as a child could be more likely to develop chickenpox as adults, when cases can be more severe. <\/p>\n
But health officials changed their position<\/a> in 2023, when the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended the jab for children after the latest evidence suggested that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks.<\/p>\n The government is fighting to overcome vaccine hesitancy in the UK<\/p>\n ANDREW BROOKES\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n More than 90 per cent of children get chickenpox before turning 15, and they have to take five days off school or nursery from the moment spots appear. <\/p>\n As well as disrupting children\u2019s education, chickenpox is a leading cause for parents to have to take days off work to provide childcare. Research shows the illness results in an estimated \u00a324 million in lost income and productivity every year in the UK, as well as costing the NHS \u00a315 million for treatment. <\/p>\n Stephen Kinnock, a health minister, said: \u201cWe\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Stephen Kinnock<\/p>\n MATT CROSSICK\/EMPICS\/ALAMY<\/p>\n Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, deputy director of immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency said: \u201cMost 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is excellent news that from next January we will be introducing a vaccine to protect against chickenpox into the NHS routine childhood vaccination programme \u2014 helping prevent what is for most a nasty illness and for those who develop severe symptoms, it could be a life saver.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now have extensive experience from a number of countries showing that the vaccine has a good safety record and is highly effective. The programme will have a really positive impact on the health of young children and also lead to fewer missed nursery and school days.\u201d<\/p>\n While most chickenpox cases are mild, it can cause complications, including swelling of the brain and stroke, which can result in hospitalisation or death.<\/p>\n The shift to the new MMRV vaccine comes after health officials changed the schedule for the second MMR dose. Previously, children received the second dose at three years and four months, but those born from July last year onwards will now have their second dose at 18 months old.<\/p>\n Ministers also announced a \u00a330 million investment in a new mRNA vaccines and drugs centre in Darlington \u2014 a move ministers hope will give the UK a global lead as the US steps back.<\/p>\n Health officials are considering whether to launch a catch-up programme for millions more under-fives. It is not thought the chickenpox vaccine will be made available to older children on NHS.<\/p>\n \u2022 Katalin Karik\u00f3: I developed mRNA. RFK Jr is endangering US public health<\/a><\/p>\n Treatments based on mRNA, a type of genetic material, came of age during the Covid-19 pandemic, when vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were developed and deployed in record time, saving millions of lives.<\/p>\n Scientists believe the same approach could battle cancers<\/a> and cardiovascular disease, as well as infectious conditions such as ebola, rabies and flu.<\/p>\n![\"Syringe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/1d273007-6237-4075-8736-5a827b73e972.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/\/9e4d2b7e-f48e-44ce-aa1b-06344c700b07.jpg\")
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