New report shows toll of Chickenpox with over 3,000 infants hospitalised last year
What was announced
Parents urged to ensure children are protected with free vaccine now available as part of NHS Childhood Vaccination Programme
Key points, in the publisher's words
- Children aged 4 to 6 (born between January 2020 and August 2022) can get a catch-up chickenpox vaccine from next week
- New figures published today by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show the significant burden chickenpox (varicella) placed on young children in England in 2025, in the year before protection against the virus became part of the routine NHS Childhood Vaccination Programme.
- The data, published in the Varicella Annual Report 2025 , shows there were 3,037 hospitalisations for chickenpox among children and young people under 18.
Figures in this announcement
Each line is quoted from the original. Figures are as the publisher stated them on the day.
- “The data, published in the Varicella Annual Report 2025 , shows there were 3,037 hospitalisations for chickenpox among children and young people under 18.”
- “There were over 15,000 GP consultations for chickenpox in under-18s over the course of the year, based on this sample of GP practices.”
- “Children aged 5 and under bore the brunt of the illness, accounting for over 70% of all clinical chickenpox reports made to regional UKHSA Health Protection Teams.”
- “The highest rates of those hospitalised were among the youngest children, with those under one year old facing the greatest peak hospitalisation rates (5.8 compared with 2.3 per 100,000 among 1 to 4 year olds).”
- “Last year, within a relatively small sample of 439 nurseries and primary schools 4,117 absences were recorded.”
Who and where
People
- Dame Diana Johnson (MP for Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham (Labour)) · more news
UK bodies of power
- UK Health Security Agency (executive agency) · more news
Constituencies of the MPs named: Kingston Upon Hull North And Cottingham.
Where this sits in the 10 levels of power
Topics, as GOV.UK files them: Immunisation.
Receipt
- Original: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-report-shows-toll-of-chickenpox-with-over-3000-infants-hospitalised-last-year
- Published 2026-10-30 09:30:03 UTC
- Read by this site 2026-10-30 09:45:15 UTC from GOV.UK
- Saved copy: receipt 4833, with its SHA-256 fingerprint
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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