As any parent knows, there are few things more disruptive to family life than a child covered from head to toe in itchy chickenpox spots. The sleepless nights. The constant application of calamine lotion. The scramble to take time off work while your little one recovers.

That’s why today’s expansion of the NHS childhood vaccination programme will come as such a relief to so many families. The new combined vaccine, free on the NHS, will protect young children in England against chickenpox (varicella), measles, mumps and rubella. Children will be offered the MMRV vaccine at 12 and 18 months of age, and GP surgeries in England are contacting families from today to arrange appointments. This will mean fewer days missed from nursery and school, fewer urgent calls to the GP and fewer parents having to miss work.

Research shows that half of children catch chickenpox by the age of four, and 90% by the time they are 10 years old. While most cases resolve on their own, chickenpox costs families and the wider economy around £24m a year in lost income and productivity. This new vaccine will help reduce that burden considerably.

But beyond the practical benefits, this rollout addresses something more serious. Chickenpox is often thought of as a mild childhood illness, but it can lead to severe complications requiring hospitalisation – including bacterial infections such as group A streptococcus, pneumonia and encephalitis. Even in recent years, there have been........

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