Introduction of a routine varicella (MMRV) vaccination programme for children at one year and at 18 months
Published 31 October 2025
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The introduction of a routine varicella (MMRV) vaccination programme for children at one year and at 18 months, with a catch-up for children aged up to 6 years in England.
31 October 2025
Dear Colleagues,
We are writing to inform you of the introduction of a varicella vaccination into the NHS routine childhood vaccination programme from 1 January 2026 using a combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine, following the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). From 1 January 2026, all children will be offered a combined MMRV vaccine instead of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) as part of the childhood routine 2-dose vaccination schedule.
There will also be a single-dose selective MMRV catch-up programme for older children to further and more rapidly reduce transmission in the population. Children will be invited and encouraged to attend if they have not yet had chickenpox vaccine or disease. Details of this are set out further below.
Our previous letter published on 30 April 2025 has already set out the change in scheduled age for dose 2 of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which moves from 3 years 4 months to 18 months of age from 1 January 2026 for children born on or after 1 July 2024.
Please share this information with all local partners involved in commissioning and delivering the programme and take action as required.
Key information on implementing the routine and catch-up programmes for MMRV vaccination from 1 January 2026
1. Routine MMRV programme
The routine programme will start on 1 January 2026 as outlined in Table 1.
Table 1. MMRV vaccination eligibility by date of birth
| Date of birth | Age on 31 December 2025 | New programme from 1 January 2026 | Child’s full schedule for MMR/MMRV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2025 or later | Under 1 year | Two doses of MMRV at 12 months and 18 months | 12 months – MMRV 18 months – MMRV |
| 01/07/2024 to 31/12/2024 | 1 year to under 18 months | Two doses of MMRV at 18 months and 3 years 4 months | 12 months – MMR 18 months – MMRV 3 years 4 months – MMRV |
| 01/09/2022 to 30/06/2024 | 18 months to under 3 years 4 months | One dose of MMRV at 3 years 4 months | 12 months – MMR 3 years 4 months – MMRV |
| 01/01/2020 to 31/08/2022 | 3 years 4 months to under 6 years | Selective catch-up from 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2028 for those who have not yet had chickenpox infection or 2 doses of varicella vaccination [note 1] | 12 months – MMR 3 years 4 months – MMR MMRV catch-up offer |
| 31/12/2019 or before | 6 years and older | Not eligible | 12 months – MMR 3 years 4 months – MMR |
Note 1: There is no requirement for practices to check the history for those who respond to the offer.
a. Two doses of MMRV offered to children aged under one year old on 31 December 2025 (date of birth on or after 1 January 2025): dose 1 at one year, and dose 2 at the new 18-month appointment.
b. Two doses of MMRV offered to children aged from one year up to 18 months on 31 December 2025 (date of birth on or after 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2024) at the new 18-month appointment and at the 3 years 4 months routine appointment. These children should have already received dose 1 of MMR at one year.
c. One dose of MMRV offered to children aged from 18 months up to 3 years 4 months on 31 December 2025 (date of birth on or after 1 September 2022 to 30 June 2024) at their 3 years 4 months routine appointment (instead of MMR). These children should have already received dose 1 of MMR at one year.
Any child with an incomplete immunisation history for their age should be managed according to the UKHSA uncertain or incomplete immunisation algorithm, which is being updated to reflect these changes.
2. MMRV selective catch-up programme
A one-dose MMRV selective catch-up programme will be delivered between 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2028 as follows (also see table 1 above):
a. One dose will be offered to any children aged from 3 years 4 months to under 6 years on 31 December 2025 (date of birth on or after 1 January 2020 to 31 August 2022) with no history of chickenpox disease or two doses of varicella vaccination.
b. Children presenting for the selective catch-up do not require MMRV vaccine if parents volunteer that the child has had previous chickenpox infection or two prior varicella-containing vaccines. However, there is no requirement for practices to check the history for those who respond to the catch-up offer.
c. There are no safety concerns with giving the vaccine to a child who has already had chickenpox infection or previous varicella vaccination.
d. For children who have missed routine doses of MMR, these children should be brought up to date using the UKHSA uncertain or incomplete immunisation algorithm, which is being updated to reflect these changes.
3. Information relevant to both routine and selective catch-up MMRV programmes
Eligibility is outlined in table 1 above
The programme will use 2 combined MMRV vaccines, Priorix-Tetra® (GSK) and ProQuad® (MSD).
The vaccines are considered clinically equivalent and interchangeable, although Priorix-Tetra® may be preferred for children who do not accept porcine gelatine.
A ‘varicella-only’ vaccine will not be offered in the NHS routine or selective catch-up programmes.
MMR vaccine will no longer be available for the NHS routine childhood programme from 1 January 2026. MMR vaccine will be available for administration outside of the routine childhood programme (for example, for catching up older individuals, where date of birth is on or before 31 December 2019, who have not received 2 doses of MMR and are not eligible for MMRV).
Children born on or after 1 January 2020 and who have missed any MMR doses should be caught up using MMRV, according to the UKHSA uncertain or incomplete immunisation algorithm. They can then return to the routine schedule for their age.
Children aged 6 years and above on 31 December 2025 (date of birth on or before 31 December 2019) remain eligible for MMR but are not eligible for MMRV vaccination through the routine NHS MMRV programme.
Close contacts of those at high risk of complications from varicella infection should continue to be vaccinated with varicella-containing vaccines, in line with Green Book guidance.
There will be a number of children who will be eligible to receive 3 MMR-containing vaccines. There are no safety concerns with this approach.
Information provided in the annexe of this letter
Annexe A: information and resources to support implementation.
For any operational queries, please contact your NHS England Regional Public Health Commissioning Team. For clinical queries or queries about programme resources, please email immunisation@ukhsa.gov.uk.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in the commissioning and operational delivery of the national immunisation programme in England.
Yours sincerely,
Caroline Temmink, Director of Vaccination, NHS England
Dr Mary Ramsay CBE, Director of Public Health Programmes (including immunisation), UK Health Security Agency