More than 3,000 children and young people were hospitalised with chickenpox in England in 2025, highlighting the burden of the infection in the year before routine protection against the virus was introduced through the NHS childhood vaccination programme.
New figures published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show there were 3,037 hospitalisations among under-18s during the year. Monitoring of around a third of GP practices across England also recorded more than 15,000 consultations for chickenpox among children and young people.
The figures, published in the Varicella Annual Report 2025, provide an indication of the impact of the infection before the introduction of the combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine into the routine childhood immunisation schedule.
Children aged five and under bore the greatest burden, accounting for more than 70 per cent of clinical chickenpox reports made to regional UKHSA Health Protection Teams.
The youngest children faced the highest hospitalisation rates. Among babies under one year old, the rate was 5.8 per 100,000, compared with 2.3 per 100,000 among children aged one to four.
UKHSA said the figures represented only part of the national burden. A sample of 439 nurseries and primary schools recorded 4,117 absences linked to chickenpox during 2025. Many parents also manage the illness at home without seeking medical advice, meaning cases are likely to go unrecorded.
How is the NHS expanding chickenpox vaccination?
Protection against chickenpox became part of the routine NHS Childhood Vaccination Programme on 1 January 2026, through the combined MMRV vaccine.
Children are offered two doses, at 12 and 18 months, alongside their other routine childhood vaccinations. The vaccine protects against chickenpox as well as measles, mumps and rubella.
Children under 12 months are not routinely vaccinated because the vaccine may not produce a sufficiently strong immune response at that age. They therefore rely on indirect protection from vaccination among eligible older children and the wider population.
A selective catch-up programme is also being introduced for older children. Running from 1 November 2026, to 31 March 2028, it will offer a single dose of MMRV to children born between 1 January 2020, and 31 August 2022, who have not previously had chickenpox or received two doses of a varicella vaccine.
These children will already have been offered two MMR doses as part of the routine childhood programme.
UKHSA is encouraging parents of eligible children to take up the offer, highlighting the potential complications associated with chickenpox, measles, mumps and rubella.
Dr Gavin Dabrera, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said the figures showed the toll chickenpox could take on children, particularly the very young, with thousands of hospital admissions and school absences recorded every year.
He said the new programme meant children could receive protection against all four infections through two doses of the free NHS MMRV vaccine.
Dame Diana Johnson, minister for public health and patient safety, said chickenpox could be unpleasant and, in some cases, lead to serious complications.
She said the government wanted every child to have the healthiest possible start in life and encouraged eligible families to ensure their children received the vaccine.
What does the catch-up programme mean for primary care?
The NHS is urging eligible families to come forward for vaccination, with the catch-up programme offering protection to children who fall within the specified birth dates and eligibility criteria.
Dr Amanda Doyle, director for primary care and community services at NHS England, said vaccination remained the best way to protect children against preventable illnesses.
She said the catch-up programme would allow eligible children to receive protection against chickenpox, measles, mumps and rubella through a single vaccination.
The catch-up vaccinations are being delivered through GP practices rather than community pharmacies. However, the programme adds to the wider childhood immunisation effort and reinforces the importance of public awareness and vaccine uptake across primary care.
The 2025 figures provide a baseline for assessing the impact of the new programme. Future surveillance data will be needed to establish whether routine vaccination and the catch-up offer lead to a sustained reduction in chickenpox cases and hospital admissions.
