MEASLES
MUMPS &
RUBELLA
W H A T Y O U
VACCINES N E E D T O K N O W
These are the recommended ages. But children can
1 Why get vaccinated? get the second dose at any age, as long as it is at
least 28 days after the first dose.
Measles, mumps, and rubella are serious diseases.
Some adults should also get MMR vaccine:
Measles Generally, anyone 18 years of age or older, who was
• Measles virus causes rash, cough, runny nose, eye born after 1956, should get at least one dose of
irritation, and fever. MMR vaccine, unless they can show that they have
• It can lead to ear infection, pneumonia, seizures had either the vaccines or the diseases.
(jerking and staring), brain damage, and death.
Ask your doctor or nurse for more information.
Mumps
• Mumps virus causes fever, headache, and swollen MMR vaccine may be given at the same time as
glands. other vaccines.
• It can lead to deafness, meningitis (infection of the
brain and spinal cord covering), painful swelling of
the testicles or ovaries, and, rarely, death. Some people should not get
3 MMR vaccine or should wait
Rubella (German Measles)
• Rubella virus causes rash, mild fever, and arthritis
(mostly in women). • People should not get MMR vaccine who have
• If a woman gets rubella while she is pregnant, she ever had a life-threatening allergic reaction to
could have a miscarriage or her baby could be gelatin, the antibiotic neomycin, or to a previous
born with serious birth defects. dose of MMR vaccine.
You or your child could catch these diseases by • People who are moderately or severely ill at the
being around someone who has them. They spread time the shot is scheduled should usually wait until
from person to person through the air. they recover before getting MMR vaccine.
Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine • Pregnant women should wait to get MMR vaccine
can prevent these diseases. until after they have given birth. Women should
avoid getting pregnant for 4 weeks after getting
Most children who get their MMR shots will not get MMR vaccine.
these diseases. Many more children would get them
if we stopped vaccinating. • Some people should check with their doctor about
whether they should get MMR vaccine, including
anyone who:
Who should get MMR - Has HIV/AIDS, or another disease that affects
2 vaccine and when? the immune system
- Is being treated with drugs that affect the immune
Children should get 2 doses of MMR vaccine: system, such as steroids, for 2 weeks or longer.
- Has any kind of cancer
The first at 12-15 months of age - Is taking cancer treatment with x-rays or drugs
and the second at 4-6 years of age. - Has ever had a low platelet count (a blood disorder)
Over . . .
• People who recently had a transfusion or were serious allergic reaction include difficulty breathing,
given other blood products should ask their doctor hoarseness or wheezing, hives, paleness, weakness, a
when they may get MMR vaccine fast heart beat or dizziness within a few minutes to
a few hours after the shot. A high fever or seizure,
Ask your doctor or nurse for more information. if it occurs, would happen 1 or 2 weeks after the
shot.
What are the risks from What should I do?
4 MMR vaccine? • Call a doctor, or get the person to a doctor right away.
• Tell your doctor what happened, the date and time it
A vaccine, like any medicine, is capable of causing happened, and when the vaccination was given.
serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions. • Ask your doctor, nurse, or health department to file a
The risk of MMR vaccine causing serious harm, or Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)
death, is extremely small. form. Or call VAERS yourself at 1-800-822-7967 or
visit their website at http://www.vaers.org.
Getting MMR vaccine is much safer than getting
any of these three diseases.
The National Vaccine Injury
Most people who get MMR vaccine do not have
any problems with it.
6 Compensation Program
Mild Problems In the rare event that you or your child has a
• Fever (up to 1 person out of 6) serious reaction to a vaccine, a federal program has
• Mild rash (about 1 person out of 20) been created to help you pay for the care of those
• Swelling of glands in the cheeks or neck (rare) who have been harmed.
If these problems occur, it is usually within 7-12 days after
For details about the National Vaccine Injury
the shot. They occur less often after the second dose.
Compensation Program, call 1-800-338-2382 or visit
the program’s website at http://www.hrsa.gov/osp/vicp
Moderate Problems
• Seizure (jerking or staring) caused by fever (about
1 out of 3,000 doses)
• Temporary pain and stiffness in the joints, mostly
in teenage or adult women (up to 1 out of 4)
7 How can I learn more?
• Temporary low platelet count, which can cause a • Ask your doctor or nurse. They can give you the
bleeding disorder (about 1 out of 30,000 doses) vaccine package insert or suggest other sources of
information.
Severe Problems (Very Rare)
• Serious allergic reaction (less than 1 out of a million • Call your local or state health department’s
doses) immunization program.
• Several other severe problems have been known to
• Contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
occur after a child gets MMR vaccine. But this
(CDC):
happens so rarely, experts cannot be sure whether
- Call 1-800-232-2522 (English)
they are caused by the vaccine or not. These include:
- Call 1-800-232-0233 (Español)
- Deafness
- Visit the National Immunization Program’s website at
- Long-term seizures, coma, or lowered consciousness
http://www.cdc.gov/nip
- Permanent brain damage
What if there is a moderate
5 or severe reaction? U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
What should I look for? National Immunization Program
Any unusual conditions, such as a serious allergic Vaccine Information Statement
reaction, high fever or behavior changes. Signs of a MMR (1/15/03) 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-26
