MMRV replaces MMR: chickenpox joins the childhood schedule

A quiet but substantial change has gone through the UK childhood vaccination schedule: the familiar MMR has been replaced by MMRV, and chickenpox now sits alongside measles, mumps and rubella. Different birth years get different numbers of doses, and one whole age group is waiting for a catch-up campaign that only starts in November 2026.

What is MMRV, and how does it differ from MMR?

It is a combined vaccine against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (varicella). In the NHS vaccination schedule it has replaced MMR.

MMR has not disappeared. It is still available for older children and adults born on or before 31 December 2019 who were not vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella when they were younger.

As for why chickenpox was added, the NHS puts it plainly: all four infections spread very easily between people and can lead to meningitis, inflammation of the brain, pneumonia and hearing loss.

Who gets it and when — by date of birth

The schedule turns on your child's date of birth, and that is the first thing for a parent to check.

Children born on or after 1 January 2025 get one dose at 12 months and one at 18 months. Children born between 1 July and 31 December 2024 get one dose at 18 months and one at 3 years 4 months. Children born between 1 September 2022 and 30 June 2024 get a single dose at 3 years 4 months.

Then there is a separate group: children born between 1 January 2020 and 31 August 2022 who have not had chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine. They are due one dose, given at some point between 1 November 2026 and 31 March 2028, with the GP surgery contacting the family nearer the time.

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Can a baby under one be vaccinated earlier?

Babies do not usually have MMRV before 12 months. But babies aged 6 to 11 months may be able to have an early dose of MMRV or MMR in three situations: travelling to an area with a higher risk of measles, close contact with someone who has measles, or a measles outbreak.

That decision is made with your GP, so a conversation well before a trip is worth having.

How do you get the appointment?

Your GP surgery will usually contact you — by letter, text message, phone call or email.

Approach the surgery yourself if your child is due but nobody has been in touch; if a dose has been missed; if you need to rearrange an appointment; or if your child has a high temperature before the visit, in which case the vaccination will probably wait until they are better. Being mildly unwell without a high temperature is not a reason to delay.

Who cannot have MMRV?

It is a live vaccine, containing weakened versions of the viruses, so it does not suit everyone. It is not given to children with a severely weakened immune system — whether from a health condition or from medicines that suppress the immune system — or to children who have had a serious allergic reaction to any ingredient, including gelatine or neomycin.

What about adults and people close to someone at risk?

Separately from the childhood schedule there is a standalone chickenpox vaccine. The NHS offers it to people in regular or close contact with someone at higher risk of becoming seriously ill from chickenpox — a child with leukaemia, say, or an adult having chemotherapy.

The conditions: you are 9 months or older, you are otherwise healthy, you have not had chickenpox, you have not had two doses of MMRV or the chickenpox vaccine, and you are not eligible for MMRV. If you are not sure whether you have had chickenpox, a blood test may be needed.

Healthcare workers who are not immune may be recommended the vaccine where their work involves close contact with patients — doctors and nurses, ambulance staff, GP surgery and hospital receptionists, ward cleaners, catering staff and laboratory workers exposed to the virus.

The exclusions are the same, plus a few of their own: it is not given to pregnant women, to babies under 9 months, or to anyone who has had an MMR vaccine in the previous 4 weeks or is due one in the next 4. Two doses are given, usually 4 to 8 weeks apart, or 3 months apart for babies aged 9 to 12 months. After the last dose it is advised to avoid pregnancy for one month.