Two countries, two different approaches to protecting children from chickenpox. While the UK prepares to introduce a combined vaccine covering measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (MMRV) in a single jab, the US is moving in the opposite direction – restricting parents’ ability to choose that same combination for their youngest children.
Just as the US has just celebrated 30 years of chickenpox vaccination, advisers to its health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, voted against the use of the MMRV vaccine for children under four years old. Meanwhile, from January 2026, the UK will offer children their first dose of the combined MMRV vaccine at 12 months and a second dose at 18 months old.
This divergence reflects more than just different medical opinions; it highlights how the political climate can shape health policy. In June 2025, RFK Jr dismissed all members of the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with advisers who have made a series of recommendations restricting vaccination in the US.
