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young children Will get free chickenpox vaccine NHS as part of their Routine vaccinations for children first.
it will work with MMR vaccinewhich protects against measles, mumps and rubella, and becomes the MMRV vaccine.
chicken poxalso known as chickenpox, is one of the most common diseases common childhood diseases About half of adolescents are infected by age 4 and 90% by age 10. But people of any age can get infected.
Although symptoms are usually mild, the virus, which causes an itchy rash, can cause serious complications requiring hospitalization, including chest infections and cramps.
Health experts have welcomed the rollout of new vaccines and said the virus could be “very serious”. They also acknowledged that the vaccine could help ease the burden on families, as many parents are forced to take time off work to care for their children when they are sick.
“Many families are facing the threat of chickenpox, which can lead to serious complications. The disease also brings significant worry and disruption, with children unable to attend kindergarten or school and parents forced to stay home to care for them,” Health Minister Wes Streeting said.
“This new protection will give parents peace of mind that their children will not be affected by a disease that causes thousands of hospitalizations each year. Families will save time and money – no longer facing lost income from taking time off work or having to pay for private vaccinations,” he added.
As well as reducing chickenpox in childhood, which costs around £24 million a year in lost income and productivity in the UK, the rollout of the scheme is expected to save the NHS £15 million a year in the cost of treating this common disease.
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, deputy director of immunization at HSE, said: “Most parents may think of chickenpox as a common and mild illness, but for some babies, young children and even adults it can be very serious, leading to hospital admission and, unfortunately, although rare, it can be fatal.”
She added: “From today, a vaccine is being introduced into the NHS childhood vaccination program and I hope parents will make this one of their New Year’s resolutions to ensure their children take up the offer when invited.”
Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown, President of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: “The NHS childhood vaccination program is one of the great successes of modern medicine and we are delighted to see the program being expanded to protect children against chickenpox infection with the now MMRV combination vaccine.”
What are the symptoms?
Chickenpox initially causes fever, muscle aches, and after a few days an itchy red rash.
These spots fill with fluid and turn into blisters, which then crust over.
How can you catch it?
Chickenpox can be spread by being in the same room as someone with chickenpox or by coming into contact with objects that have fluid from the blisters.
People can also get chickenpox from someone who has shingles if you haven’t had it before. But the NHS explains that you can’t catch shingles from someone who has had chickenpox.
Who can get the chickenpox vaccine and where?
The vaccine is already available for children as young as 9 months old and adults up to age 65 who have not had chickenpox.
But it costs £75 per dose in private clinics and pharmacies.
However, now NHS England says hundreds of thousands of children will be eligible for the vaccine from Friday.
Children born on or after January 1, 2025 will receive two doses of MMRV vaccine at 12 months and 18 months, while children born between July 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024 will receive two doses at 18 months and 3 years and 4 months.
Children born between September 1, 2022 and June 30, 2024 will receive one dose at three years and four months.
The NHS is also planning to introduce a single-dose catch-up program later this year for children born between 1 January 2020 and 31 August 2022.
GPs will contact families to offer MMRV vaccine as part of the routine childhood vaccination programme.