Prof Chris Whitty issues 'severe or life threatening' illness warning

England's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty has issued an alert over an illness that can become "severe or life-threatening". Prof Whitty took to X, formerly Twitter, earlier this week to urge the take-up of a new vaccine, which will be made available to children from January 2026.

The Department for Health and Social Care said in an update on Friday, August 29, that it is " launching a chickenpox vaccination programme which will protect around half a million children each year." It added: "From January 2026, eligible children will get an MMRV vaccine to protect against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox. Eligibility will be announced in due course."

Sharing the post, Prof Whitty further explained: "Chickenpox is common. Usually it is just unpleasant, but it can be severe or life threatening. A long established vaccine to prevent it will be offered to all children rather than only those who can pay.

"Immunity by vaccination is safer than by infection." Chickenpox is a common infection that primarily affects children and can spread easily.

It typically resolves itself within 1 to 2 weeks without the need for a GP visit, but it can be severe in some cases. The primary symptom of chickenpox is an itchy, spotty rash that can appear anywhere on the body.

You may also experience a high temperature, general malaise, aches and pains, and/or loss of appetite either before or after the rash appears. Chickenpox progresses in three stages, with new spots potentially appearing while others are blistering or scabbing over.

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The first stage involves the appearance of small spots on the body, which may spread or remain in one part of the body. These spots are usually red, pink, darker or the same colour as the surrounding skin, and may be harder to see on brown or black skin.

In the second stage, these spots turn into blisters, which can be extremely itchy and may burst. The third stage sees these blisters or spots scab over, with some being flaky while others may leak fluid.

Chickenpox can generally be treated at home. You'll need to stay away from school, nursery or work until all spots have scabbed over, which is usually around five days after the spots first appear.