MMR vaccine FAQs
Can my child have the Hib/MenC jab together with the MMR and pneumococcal jabs?
My child is allergic to eggs. Can she have the MMR vaccination?
Can the MMR vaccination be given as three separate injections?
I don't know if my teenage daughter has had her second MMR jab. What should I do?
Does the MMR jab contain thiomersal (mercury)?
My child is due for his MMR jab but I am concerned about the connection between autism and MMR. Could it put him at risk?
Our son was born six weeks prematurely. Should we delay getting him vaccinated?
A month after I got vaccinated for MMR, I found out I was pregnant. Will my baby be ok?
Can I have single vaccines on the NHS? If not, where can I buy them?
Can my child have the MMR vaccine if they have already had single vaccines?
My son is 18 and has been asked to have a second MMR jab before university. Is this sensible?
If my child develops a mild case of measles after receiving their first MMR vaccine, are they contagious to non-vaccinated children?
My baby had measles at the age of six weeks. Can I get the vaccine without the measles component?
We are due to go travelling and my 14-month-old son is due to have his MMR jab three weeks before we go. Will he have developed immunity before we go? And can he have travel vaccines at the same time as the MMR?
My child is receiving their MMR jab tomorrow. How long should I leave it before taking them swimming?
How long does protection from MMR last?
I have heard that mumps is going around. I thought that MMR prevented mumps, so why is this happening?
My child had one dose of MMR but still got measles. Why didn't the vaccine work?
Should MMR vaccination be speeded up when there's a measles outbreak?
Yes, it's perfectly safe for these vaccines to be given together.
The childhood vaccination schedule recommends that MMR is given at around 12 to 13 months of age, and at the same time as Hib/Men C and the pneumo jab.
Yes, the MMR vaccine can be safely given to children who have a severe allergy to egg. This is because MMR vaccine is grown on chick cells, not the egg white or yolk. If you have any concerns, though, talk to your health visitor, practice nurse or doctor.
Read more about the effects of egg and other vaccine ingredients.
No it cannot. The MMR vaccine consists of a combination of three individual vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella in a single shot. The three vaccines combined in MMR are not available as single vaccines on the NHS.
For full protection, two doses of MMR are recommended. Ask your GP if you're not sure whether your daughter has had one or both doses of MMR. The Red Book would also tell you her vaccination history, if you still have it.
Your daughter could have one dose now and the second dose in three months' time. An extra MMR dose will not cause any harm.
No, the MMR vaccine has never contained thiomersal - a preservative containing mercury that is used in some vaccines.
This really shouldn't be a worry as there is no evidence of any link between MMR and autism.
Read more about the safety of the MMR vaccine.
No. Babies should receive their vaccinations according to the recommended schedule at around 12 to 13 months of age, irrespective of whether they are born prematurely.
Read more about vaccines for premature babies in this rundown of the top 10 questions that parents have about baby vaccinations.
Almost certainly, yes. Evidence from clinical trials suggests that there will be no harm to your baby. But it's worth mentioning this to your midwife or GP at the earliest possible opportunity just to be on the safe side.
The three components of MMR which are measles vaccine, mumps vaccine and rubella vaccine are not available separately on the NHS. They are only available as the combined MMR vaccine.
This is because the NHS does not recommend single measles, mumps or rubella vaccines as there is no evidence to support their use or to suggest that they are "safer" than MMR. Having single vaccines could also put your child at risk of catching measles, mumps or rubella in the time inbetween the doses of each of the vaccines.
Some private clinics in the UK offer single vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella but the NHS does not keep a list of them because clinics that offer these privately are unlicensed, which means there are no checks on their safety and effectiveness.
No country in the world recommends MMR and then offers parents a choice of having single vaccines instead. Every independent expert group around the world (including the World Health Organization) supports the use of MMR, and none support the use of single vaccines.
Yes, your child can still have the MMR vaccine on the NHS if they've already had single vaccines privately.
Be aware, though, that MMR is a 'live' vaccine so its two doses should be given at least four weeks apart. If your child has received a 'live' single vaccine, they will have to wait at least four weeks until they can have the MMR vaccine.
Many universities recommend that their students have a shot of MMR before they arrive because there have been outbreaks of mumps among unprotected students. Mumps vaccine is only available on the NHS as the MMR vaccine.
If your son never had MMR as a child, or was only partially vaccinated, see your GP to arrange for him to have MMR vaccination. Even if he has already had two doses of MMR, having a third dose to make sure he is protected against mumps will not cause any harm.
No. Post-vaccination symptoms are not infectious, so your child will not pass anything on to non-vaccinated children.
No, the MMR vaccine is not available without the measles component, but it won't do your baby any harm to be vaccinated against measles even after having the illness. MMR vaccination will help protect your baby against mumps and rubella and will also boost the antibodies they have already developed against measles.
Immunity to measles, mumps and rubella starts to develop after two weeks, so having his MMR three weeks before travelling is fine. It is also fine for him to have his other travel vaccines on the same day as the MMR.
There is no reason why your daughter cannot resume normal activities, including swimming, straight after receiving their MMR jab.
It seems to be very long lasting.
Virtually everyone (more than 99%) will be protected against measles and rubella for more than 20 years after two doses of MMR.
Protection against mumps after two doses of MMR is a little lower (90-95%) and appears to gradually decline. Mumps in vaccinated people is, however, much less likely to lead to complications such as meningitis or orchitis (painful swelling of the testes) and vaccinated people are less likely to require admission to hospital.
You need two doses of mumps vaccine to be best protected. Mumps vaccine is only available on the NHS as a component of the MMR vaccine.
MMR was introduced in 1988, with a second dose introduced in 1996, so many young adults may have had only single vaccines of measles and rubella and/or combined measles-rubella vaccines. This led to a large epidemic of mumps among this age group in 2004/2005.
Since then, we've continued to see smaller outbreaks of mumps in universities and colleges every three to four years.
During these outbreaks, the highest risk is to completely unvaccinated students but milder cases have also occurred in students who have had one or two doses of MMR. So, it's likely that some vaccinated students can catch mumps and pass the infection on to their close contacts without even knowing it.
If you've never had the MMR vaccine, you should have one dose now and another one month later.
Up to one in 10 children with measles received only one dose of vaccination. This is to be expected as a single dose of MMR vaccine protects only nine in 10 children. That's why children need a second dose. After a second dose, nine in 10 of those who didn't respond to the first dose will be protected – so the second dose boosts protection to almost 100%.
To get the best protection children should be vaccinated with the MMR vaccine at the scheduled times - between 12 and 13 months of age and again at 3 years 4 months.
In areas where there are measles outbreaks, the gap between doses can be reduced so that the children who didn't respond to the first dose are protected with the second more quickly.
Last Updated: 17/02/2022 16:06:30
The information on this page has been adapted by NHS Wales from original content supplied by
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