MMR Vaccination
Posted on 05/23/2019
As many of you know, measles is on the rise in the United States. Since January of this year, over 800 cases have been confirmed in 24 states across the country. This is the greatest number of cases reported in the United States in 25 years, since measles was considered eradicated in 2000. We have had many families wondering what this means for themselves, especially as the summertime often involves travel and vacation.
The standard vaccination schedule for MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) is one dose at 12 months with a booster dose at 4 to 6 years of age. Prior to a year of age, infants are considered to be somewhat protected by maternal antibodies. The CDC recommends that families traveling internationally (anywhere outside of the United States) should be up to date on their MMR vaccination(s). It is also recommended that infants aged 6 months to 11 months who are traveling internationally should receive a MMR vaccination. This would not count towards their series and they would still need a dose at 12 months and again at 4 to 6 years of age. The Maricopa County Health department recommends that if you are traveling with an infant under the age of 12 months within the United States to a confirmed outbreak county/location, you can consider giving their MMR vaccination early after a discussion with your pediatrician. The possible risk of this is what is called blunted immunity. It has been found that individuals who receive their MMR vaccination early may not develop as good of an immune response to the vaccine as they otherwise would if they received it at the recommended age. They may also experience waning immunity over time with early vaccination. Therefore, it should be avoided if possible. Patients who have already received their first dose of MMR at 12 months can receive their second dose prior to the age of 4 to 6 if desired, provided that there is at least 28 days between doses one and two. As always, if you have further questions, please reach out to your pediatrician.
The MMR vaccine is safe and effective. Please, let’s keep our children healthy!