A chickenpox vaccine is being rolled out on the NHS for the primary time.
Will probably be provided to kids alongside the MMR jab, which protects in opposition to measles, mumps, and rubella.
It is a combo that is lengthy been out there to youngsters in different international locations, together with the US, Canada, and Australia, and the transfer has been welcomed by well being specialists.
The UK rollout was really helpful by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in 2023, and in England alone tons of of hundreds of youngsters can be eligible from right now.
Well being Secretary Wes Streeting stated it is going to “make an actual distinction for youngsters and households”.
He stated: “Whereas chickenpox might be irritable and troublesome for youngsters, it can be extraordinarily critical and sometimes even deadly.
“The beauty of this new vaccine is that it combines the vaccine for chickenpox with MMR, which signifies that households can entry this jab for his or her youngsters, aged between 12 and 18 months.”
Who’s eligible for the vaccine?
Youngsters born on or after 1 January 2025 can be provided two doses of MMRV at 12 months and 18 months.
These born between 1 July 2024 and 31 December 2024 can be provided one dose at 18 months and one other at three years, 4 months.
Youngsters born between 1 September 2022 and 30 June 2024 can be provided one dose at three years, 4 months.
A single-dose catch-up scheme can also be deliberate for youngsters born between 1 January 2020 and 31 August 2022.
NHS England stated GPs can be contacting households as a part of the routine childhood vaccination programme.
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Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, deputy director of immunisation on the UK Well being Safety Company, stated the jab “has been proven to be extremely efficient” in different international locations, “with a great security profile”.
Dr Claire Fuller, nationwide medical director for NHS England, added: “This can be a massively constructive second for youngsters and their households, offering safety in opposition to chickenpox for the primary time and including to the arsenal of routine vaccinations we give to youngsters to safeguard them in opposition to critical sicknesses.”
The vaccine will “preserve extra youngsters secure and in class”, she added.
