Russia plans to expand its national immunisation schedule from 2027, adding vaccines against meningococcal disease, HPV, rotavirus, and chickenpox, with a focus on domestically produced options, according to health officials.
Russia plans to phase in several new childhood vaccines from 2027, with shots against meningococcal disease and human papillomavirus expected to be added first, followed by vaccines against rotavirus and chickenpox, according to Leila Namazova-Baranova, president of the Union of Paediatricians of Russia and the health ministry’s chief freelance child preventive medicine specialist, speaking to RIA Novosti.
Namazova-Baranova said the expansion of the national immunisation schedule fits into a wider state strategy, and stressed that vaccines included in the calendar must be manufactured in Russia. She said the HPV vaccine is already being produced domestically and has entered civilian circulation, while the meningococcal vaccine is also made in Russia and should soon become available more broadly.
The timetable marks another step in a process that has already shifted several times. In February 2023, reporting on earlier government planning showed that the rotavirus vaccine had been pushed back to 2025, the chickenpox vaccine to 2027 and the HPV vaccine to 2025, while the meningococcal jab was still slated for 2025. By December 2025, Russian officials were again discussing delays, with some proposals moving rotavirus to 2029, chickenpox to 2031, HPV to 2027 and meningococcal vaccination to 2027, according to Russian business and regional outlets.
Russia’s National Calendar of Preventive Vaccinations already covers a broad range of diseases, including tuberculosis, polio, hepatitis B, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, measles, rubella, mumps, Haemophilus influenzae infection, pneumococcal disease and influenza, with vaccinations provided free in state clinics. The new additions would widen that list further, but the rotavirus vaccine remains under study, suggesting that its inclusion may depend on how quickly domestic production and testing advance.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
