England & Wales to Offer Free Chickenpox Vaccine from Jan 2026 — What Parents, Schools and Clinicians Need to Know
England and Wales will introduce a free universal childhood varicella (chickenpox) vaccination programme beginning January 2026. This policy aligns the UK more closely with countries that have already reported substantial reductions in varicella incidence, hospitalizations and school outbreaks following universal childhood vaccination. Policymakers have weighed expected gains against long-discussed concerns about potential medium-term changes in herpes zoster (HZ, shingles) epidemiology due to reduced “exogenous boosting” of adult immunity. Dynamic modeling tailored to England and Wales projects large, durable reductions in varicella burden with universal vaccination, with only a modest, temporary uptick in HZ that later falls below baseline as vaccinated cohorts age. Real-world evidence from the United States and European regions adopting two-dose schedules corroborates strong public health impact with significant cuts in primary care visits, hospitalizations, and outbreaks, particularly in school settings. Clinicians, schools, and parents should prepare for updated vaccination schedules, catch-up pathways, documentation requirements, and pragmatic infection control as the programme rolls out. This brief synthesizes the clinical background of varicella-zoster virus (VZV), outlines diagnostic and management considerations, summarizes the evidence base for one- and two-dose strategies, and highlights surveillance priorities and operational implications for the NHS, schools, and families. It integrates UK-focused modeling, comparative international experience, and up-to-date surveillance and clinical trial signals.