What is measles and why is it so important we're up to date with our vaccines to protect against it?

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Young child in a yellow suit plays in a playground

Measles is highly contagious so even a small decline in vaccine uptake can lead to a rise in cases. There has been a resurgence of measles in England and around the world in recent years. In 2024 there were 2,911 laboratory confirmed measles cases in England, the highest number of cases recorded annually in decades.

How the MMRV protects against 4 potentially serious illnesses, including chickenpox

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Small boy in a yellow top being held in his mother's arms

This blog post was last checked and updated January 2026. Due to the introduction of a varicella (chickenpox) vaccination programme, the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine replaced the MMR vaccine in the routine childhood programme from the 1 …