As @JohnMalcolm1970 says. Use CTRL+SHIFT+B to bevel vertices.
In 2.8 It’s the same like in v2.79.
I forgot to switch on the shortcut documentation in this video. But you can see the shortcut in the menu I’m using.
By the way: If you are interested, I’m publishing Blender quick tips and small tutorials. You find them on my YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/graphicgladiator or here in the forums: Blender Quick tip collection by Christoph Werner (growing constantly...)