MMR Vaccination


The MMR vac­cine is used to pro­tect against three viral dis­eases; measles, mumps and rubel­la. These dis­eases spread eas­i­ly from per­son to per­son and each dis­ease has dif­fer­ent symp­toms and sever­i­ty lev­els. Preg­nant women who con­tract rubel­la may have a mis­car­riage or have a child with seri­ous birth defects.

Who should get immu­nized: Immu­niza­tion is rec­om­mend­ed for indi­vid­u­als’ ages 12 months and older.

Immu­niza­tion sched­ule: The vac­cine is admin­is­tered as a two-part series. Chil­dren typ­i­cal­ly receive the first dose of the MMR vac­cine between 12 and 15 months old and the sec­ond between ages four and six. Any­one 18 years of age or old­er, or born after 1965 who has not received an MMR vac­cine, should get at least one dose, espe­cial­ly if you plan to trav­el out­side of the country.