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 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 will have his MMR jab three weeks before we leave. 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?

Can my child have the Hib/MenC jab with the MMR and pneumococcal jabs?

Yes, these vaccines can 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 the Hib/Men C vaccine and the pneumo jab.

My child is allergic to eggs. Can she have the MMR vaccination?

Yes, the MMR vaccine can be safely given to children who have a severe allergy to egg. This is because the MMR vaccine is grown on chick cells, not the egg white or yolk. If you have any concerns, however, talk to your health visitor, practice nurse or doctor.

Read more about the effects of egg and other vaccine ingredients.

Can the MMR vaccination be given as three separate injections?

No, not on the NHS. The MMR vaccine consists of a combination of three individual vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella in a single shot.

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 between 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.

Read about why single vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella are not available on the NHS.

I don't know if my teenage daughter has had her second MMR jab. What should I do?

For full protection, two doses of MMR are recommended. If you're not sure whether your daughter has had one or both doses of MMR, ask her GP. The Red Book would also tell you her vaccination history, if you still have it.

Your daughter could have one MMR dose now and the second MMR dose in three months' time. An extra MMR dose will not cause any harm.

Does the MMR jab contain thiomersal (mercury)?

No, the MMR vaccine has never contained thiomersal – a preservative containing mercury that is used in some vaccines.

Read more about vaccine ingredients.

My son is due for his MMR jab, but I am concerned about the connection between autism and MMR. Could I put him at risk?

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.

Our son was born six weeks prematurely. Should we delay getting him vaccinated?

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.

A month after I got vaccinated for MMR, I found out I was pregnant. Will my baby be ok?

Almost certainly, yes. Evidence from clinical trials suggests that there will be no harm to your baby. However, it's worth mentioning this to your midwife or GP at the earliest possible opportunity, just to be on the safe side.

Can my child have the MMR vaccine if they have 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 the 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.

Read more about the difference between "live" and "killed" vaccines.

My son is 18 and has been asked to have a second MMR jab before university. Is this sensible?

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.

Read more about why teens need to be vaccinated against mumps.

If my child develops a mild case of measles after their first MMR vaccine, are they contagious to non-vaccinated children?

No. Post-vaccination symptoms are not infectious, so your child will not pass anything on to non-vaccinated children.

My baby had measles at the age of six weeks. Can I get the vaccine without the measles component?

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 to protect your baby against mumps and rubella, and will also boost the antibodies they have already developed against measles.

We're going travelling and my 14-month-old son is due to have his MMR jab three weeks before we leave. Will he have developed immunity in time?

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.

My child is receiving their MMR jab tomorrow. How long should I leave it before taking them swimming?

There is no reason why your child cannot resume normal activities, including swimming, straight after receiving their MMR jab.

How long does protection from MMR last?

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.

I have heard that mumps is going around. I thought that MMR prevented mumps, so why is this happening?

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.

Read more about teens and mumps.

My child had one dose of MMR and still caught measles. Why didn't the vaccine work?

Up to 1 in 10 children with measles received a single dose of vaccination. This is to be expected, as a single dose of MMR vaccine protects only 9 in 10 children. That's why children need a second dose. After a second dose, 9 in 10 of those who didn't respond to the first dose will be protected – so the second dose boosts protection to almost 100%.

Should MMR vaccination be speeded up when there's a measles outbreak?

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.

Read what to do in a measles outbreak.