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Some community pharmacies are “likely” to be involved in providing the NHS chickenpox vaccination programme in 2026, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has said.
The government announced on 29 August 2025 that from January 2026, GP practices in England will offer eligible children a measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine as part of the routine infant vaccination schedule.
On the same day, the Welsh government also confirmed the programme will launch in Wales from January 2026. It is expected to launch in Scotland, but a date has not been confirmed.
Chickenpox is a highly contagious infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which mostly presents as an itchy rash but can lead to complications in certain patient groups.
The government also said that the vaccine would “help reduce cases of chickenpox and protect children from serious complications that can cause hospitalisation, such as bacterial infections like strep A, brain and lung inflammation and stroke”.
A private chickenpox vaccination service is already available in pharmacies, costing around £150 for two doses.
“This rollout will mean the vaccination will be available free of charge on the NHS to eligible children,” the government added.
The MMR vaccine is available on the NHS in pharmacies in some areas, including the north west of England.
A community pharmacy pilot of a catch-up MMR programme in Greater Manchester for children who had missed doses of the vaccine is currently being evaluated, after it ended in March 2025.
Commenting on whether pharmacies could be involved in providing the MMRV vaccine, Alastair Buxton, director of NHS services at CPE, said: “CPE is committed to increasing the range of NHS vaccination programmes commissioned from pharmacies, including for childhood programmes. That is aligned with proposals in the vision for community pharmacy and the aspirations of pharmacy owners.
“Some pharmacies are commissioned at a local level to provide MMR vaccinations, and those services will likely be updated by commissioners to use the new vaccine in 2026.”
The government’s announcement follows data published by the UK Health Security Agency on 28 August 2025, which show that almost one in five children in England are starting primary school having not received the 4-in-1 pre-school booster jab, which helps to protect against polio, whooping cough, tetanus and diphtheria.
The data also show that 91.9% of children had received the first dose of the MMR vaccine by the age of five years.
In Scotland and Wales, MMR vaccine coverage was 95.3% and 95.2% respectively, exceeding the World Health Organization’s target of 95% coverage.
Separately, on 29 August 2025, CPE announced that the government has frozen the fee for flu vaccinations.
CPE added that it was “unacceptable” that the fee has remained the same for the seventh season running, as costs for pharmacy owners have increased significantly.
