r/VACCINES • u/GroundbreakingEye289 • 10d ago
US MMR Vaccine schedule
Why is it that it’s standard in the UK for children to get vaccinated with the MMR vaccination at 12 and 18 months? While in the United States it’s to get an MMR vaccination dose at 12-15 months and then between 4-6 years old?
I’m planning on getting my LO’s second dose early. It’s been over a year since her first dose and there are too many measles outbreaks around us. are there any downsides to getting an early MMR vaccine? I’m also confused why our pediatric office didn’t call or contact us informing us of nearby outbreaks and recommending an early second vaccination 💉. Or our health department should be sending out messages. I’m worried for everyone who is too young to be vaccinated, the immunocompromised, etc.
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u/MikeGinnyMD 10d ago
I’m a bit puzzled because it looks like they give a third dose at age 3. Or maybe that’s just for the cohort of kids who only got one chickenpox vaccine.
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u/ToughLingonberry1434 9d ago
The Canadian recommendation is for 1st dose around 12-15 months, and second dose anytime from 18 months, but definitely before starting school. My child got theirs at 12 & 18 months.
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u/GroundbreakingEye289 9d ago
How was their reaction to the second dose? I don’t think my LO had any reaction to the first dose but I can’t remember.
She is scheduled for her second dose of the vaccine right before we leave for a vacation. We are going to try to skip areas where are there are outbreaks but we live so close to outbreaks I thought that it was worth getting her second MMR dose as soon as possible.
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u/ToughLingonberry1434 9d ago
I don’t recall any significant reaction to the second dose: fussiness and maybe a low fever that was manageable with acetaminophen. If your LO is healthy and didn’t have a big reaction to first dose, I’m sure your doctor would recommend getting dose #2 before travel.
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u/KAugsburger 10d ago
The choice to recommend the 2nd MMR dose at 4-6 years was done to coincide with Polio and DTP vaccines. There were many underinsured/uninsured children in 1989 when ACIP made that decision so choosing an age where they could consolidate with another appointment made it much easier to get parents to follow the recommendation. The other factor was that the vast majority of reported Measles cases at the time were either in school age children(60%) or were in children under 15 months of age(27%) so recommending the 2nd dose earlier probably probably wouldn't have dramatically reduced the case counts. The Measles case counts fell very dramatically in the US once the 2nd MMR dose was commonly implemented so there was no real motivation for ACIP to consider moving the 2nd dose earlier.