Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
Blue Sky Offices Shoreham, 25 Cecil Pashley Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5FF, UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 (0)1273 434 943
Email: [email protected]
Figures published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have shown chickenpox hospitalisations totalled 3,037 for children and young people in England last year.
The figures, published in the Varicella Annual Report 2025, showed that younger children were disproportionately affected by chickenpox (varicella) in England in 2025 before the virus was introduced to the NHS Childhood Vaccination Programme on 1 January 2026.
The virus is now part of the MMRV vaccine, protecting against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella, and is given in 12 doses, the first at 12 months and the second at 18 months as part of the routine immunisation schedule.
Children aged under 5 were affected the most, accounting for over 70% of the clinical chickenpox reports made to the UKHSA Protection Teams. Similarly, younger children had the highest rates of hospitalisation, with 2.3 per 100,000 among 1–4-year-olds, and children under one year old also saw the highest peak of hospitalisation rates, with 5.8 per 100,000.
Catch-up programme for eligible children
The UKHSA is urging parents of eligible children to take part in the new MMRV vaccination routine.
To increase protection from chickenpox for young children, a new catch-up programme has been introduced for children born between 1 January 2020 and 31 August 2022 if they have not already had chickenpox or not already had 2 doses of the varicella vaccine. The selective catch-up programme began on 1 November 2026 and will run until 31 March 2026 and will offer a single dose of the MMRV to eligible children.
The effects of chickenpox
Information from the report showed over 15,000 GP consultations for chickenpox were recorded throughout 2025 in under-18s, according to data from around a third of general practices in England that were monitored. The report found that 4,117 absences related to chickenpox were recorded across 439 nurseries and primary schools in 2025. However, the research shows that many parents manage milder cases of the illness at home and do not seek medical advice or treatment, and more cases of chickenpox occur but are not recorded.
Dr Gavin Dabrera, Consultant Epidemiologist at UKHSA, said, “Chickenpox might seem like a mild illness that children simply have to get through, but these figures reveal the true toll this nasty disease can inflict on children, especially the very young, with thousands of hospital admissions and school absences every year. ”
“The good news is that children are now able to get protected against chickenpox as well as measles, mumps and rubella, through just two doses of the free NHS MMRV vaccine – given at 12 and 18 months. No parent wants to see their children needlessly suffering in hospital. That is why it’s so important that all parents of eligible children, as well as the older catch-up groups, get their children vaccinated as soon as invited.”
