Measles baby

[Peanutbutteryday]

Hello - I am really worried about the outbreak in London. Is there anything I can do to help protect 4 month old baby? We are near the outbreak in London

we have a toddler who has had one vaccine and I am going to ask the gp if second vaccine can be accelerated. Otherwise has anyone had this done privately? toddler is at pre school so out in the community. actually due second vaccine in two months anyway.

i don’t think baby can have anything until one- maybe nine months private. Has anyone done this?

baby is EBF but don’t think that helps at all

I Also have pn anxiety so this isn’t helping. sorry if overreacting

BF does offer some passive immunity via the mom's antibodies.

Check with your GP and NHS as vaccines may be given earlier during outbreaks.

Did you get MMR vaccine while pregnant?
If so, ideally, baby has roughly 6 months protection (the degree of protection is not absolute). The best thing is to ensure you and the rest of family and contacts are vaccinated.
And limit or avoid contact with those who have any signs of illness / are not vaccinated.
With my two, visitors had to be well and masked (both born in Covid era). I think that is still sensible.

Thanks @Mumtobabyhavoc
I wasn’t offered mmr pregnant? But I had all vaccines offered when pregnant. I was up to date with mmr pre pregnancy.
We are all vaccined as a wider family other than outstanding second jab for toddler.

It makes me so angry when people refuse to vaccinate their children.

I’m sorry this is happening where you live. Every so often there are news reports of measles outbreaks because some idiot has flown in from overseas and spread the virus around.

Same! I’ve been saying how cross I am that people don’t get the vaccines since my dc1 was a baby as there was a visible push then to try and make sure everyone was getting mmr..

You can't get MMR when pregnant. It's a live vaccine.

I would move forward toddler's vaccine, that's what I'm doing, she got dose 1 at 10 months and will get dose 2 at 20 months as we're just about to travel to the UK.

Be aware measles is airborne (like flu, RSV, covid, whooping cough) so don't take your baby to crowded indoor spaces, ventilate your house and share resources with toddler's nursery about the importance of airborne mitigation e.g. https://www.cleanairforkids.co.uk/

And https://www.covidsafetyforschools.org/

And yes don't hesitate to require visitors to your house to wear a tightly fitting N95 or Kn95 mask, not a baggy surgical mask, and when you go to the GP for vaccines request it of staff too and ask they open windows or even perform the vaccination outdoors. Healthcare facilities in the UK have the worst airborne mitigation so are hugely risky, if an infected patient was there before you their exhaled viral particles can remain floating in the air for hours and still be infectious.

Sorry I was confusing mmr pre-pregnancy and tdap during. Sorry!

I believe the vaccine can be given from 6 months but the baby will need an additional dose later (ie still the usual two doses in addition to this one). This is sometimes offered during outbreaks, so do ask your GP . I think they are doing that in Manitoba, Canada ( eligible at 6 months) right now.
Tragic. This is a preventable illness.

Thanks everyone feeling less anxious this morning as I have been in contact with GP surgery and they should get back to me today or tomorrow regarding timing for second injection for dc1. Hoping can be pulled forward.

If not has anyone had second injection privately for mmr in London?

Can you have a booster MMR vaccination yourself? I believe my DD was able to do this when her BF baby was too young for the vaccine. I can't recall how old baby was, maybe 7 or 8 months, and it was definitely given to enhance antibodies in breastmilk.

Oh right - interesting and helpful thank you.

I assume if it does become more serious they’ll roll out some sort of additional vaccine programme locally in London if warranted but I will speak to the gp in the meantime as tbh I am a bit worried.

Absolutely, they should have the latest advice. DD lives in Leeds and they have some measles but nothing like the figures from London. I don't blame you for being cautious!

I’m having the same worry- 7mo living in London, although not north London where the current outbreak is. Phoned GP this morning but they said the vaccine isn’t currently being offered early - my son could only have it if there’s confirmed contact with someone. Which seems a bit stupid as potentially too late by then! I had a quick look into getting it done privately, my local travel clinic offers MMR for £45 per dose. Has anyone had experience of doing this? I assume it would be fine as nhs guidance does say babies 6m+ can be vaccinated where there’s a local outbreak.

Oh it’s so worrying. I feel so much anger towards the anti vaccine parents. They go on about the dangers of vaccines but have no response to the point that other people vaccinating their children is what’s protecting their child. It’s pure selfishness.

When DS was 12 months old he caught RSV and I’m certain it was from the parent and baby right next to us in a baby class who were both obviously unwell, yet still showed up in this class to spread their germs. It made him seriously unwell and he spent a week in hospital needing help to breathe. Too many parents care only about themselves and not how their actions can impact others.

Back to your original question, we lived in an area where there was a measles outbreak and the MMR dose due at 3 years was brought forward to 18 months, so it’s definitely something that can be done at that age. In fact, hasn’t the NHS brought it forward to 18 months anyway, assuming your toddler is around that age.

Yea that’s what I’d like to know re private mmr. The nhs says they don’t regulate private clinics that offer single measles vaccines so to avoid that. It is silent on private clinics offering the combined vaccines….
fingers crossed someone knows

I've only just heard about this, I live in a neighbouring town to Enfield. My 4 year old is fully vaccinated and in reception but I also have a 9 month old so I'm now panicking 😭

Right, a question from the dunce at the back of the class, please… if at the routine 8-16 week jabs, babies get MMR, when’s their next dose (I assume as a toddler)? In other words, I’ve got a 4 month old…should I be freaking out?

Nvm! Answered my own question by googling. Stand down!

I can’t imagine how stressful this is. I’m furious that so many have avoided jabs and created this situation

I really feel for you all. It can remain in the air for up to two hours after the contagious person has left, so it's not just a case of going back to covid-levels of avoidance.

Sorry, I don't want to add to the fear but I think it really needs to be contained... somehow...

They don't get first dose of MMR til 12 months

OP I went to a talk on vaccines years ago, by the French obstetrician Michele Odent, he said at the time that bf babies had some level of immunity from measles through breast milk. What I am not clear on is if this is true for both vaccinated mothers and mothers who actually had measles as children. I had measles when I was little, as did everyone I knew at the time, pre a vaccine. I remember having it and the doctor coming to the house to check on me.

It’s so sad to see an illness that we had eliminated in the UK return.

We give MMR vaccine (now MMRV) at 12 months; it’s not given before then as maternal antibodies are still circulating and wane at around 12 months. Also vaccine given before then is less effective, partly due to those antibodies.

If you have MMR vaccine before 12 months it doesn’t “count” in the UK schedule and will be discounted and repeated at 12 and 18 months, now as MMRV.

We can only give MMRV vaccine early when directed to do so by UKHSE (previously Public Health England) as part of outbreak management, and this will be regional and targeted so will vary between areas.