The NHS has announced a major change being made to the MMR vaccine from next year, which is expected to save millions in NHS costs and protect around 500,000 children every year.

The MMR vaccine has been commonly offered to babies around 12 to 18 months old in order to give long-term protection from measles, mumps and rubella.

However, from January 2026, the MMR jab is set to be replaced by a new combined vaccine that will protect against an additional infection which commonly affects children.

From the beginning of next year, GP practices are expected to begin rolling out the chickenpox vaccine - also known as the varicella jab - to form a new combined MMRV vaccine, to protect against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.

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