Child first MMR vaccine at age 3.5 years old

[MimiDuncan]

Hi All,

did any of you had their child first MMR vaccine at age 3 or more?

if yes how it went? Were there many side effects ?

I wanted to delay my little ones as he was acting very strange after his last sets of vaccines when he was 18 months old.

He had staring spells and was blinking a lot for months and I got a fright 😔

i am honestly very nervous about this MMR.

thank you.

Why did you just omit the 13 month mmr but have the other 3? Which side effects are you worried about?. The majority of children can and do get the mmr safely. The diseases it protects against are much worse than any of the side effects. Usually low immunity means you’d be better to be vaccinated as more likely to catch something.

go to the GP check it’s ok for your child to get the mmr and take her to get it. There’s a massive push on getting kids who haven’t had mmr to take it just now so you may struggle to get an appointment.

I delayed with my dd because it was at the height of the Wakefield scare. There were no problems at all when she had it.

It's down to you of course, but I would absolutely look into this further. Neutropenia by itself is not a reason to avoid the MMR at all. Neutrophils do not combat viral infection. There's a lot of very clear evidence and guidance that people with severe neutropenia can have the MMR (assuming they don't have another contraindication of course). It would be a shame for you to be at risk of acquiring measles for no reason. If your haematologist told you you can't have the MMR because of neutropenia then your haematologist got it wrong.

Subsequent child was done at the normal time. Also no problems.

Yes you are right, Xolair otherwise known as Omalizumab, does not cause immunosuppression and is not a contraindication to having the MMR jab.

@KidsDr I will ask, I'm under the MacMillan centre haematology department and they're usually really helpful
I think the issue is more like it is with anything - like measles vaccine isn't an issue but if I get a secondary infection as part of a reaction, that's the issue. From what I understand anyway
Like Covid, my risks were more if I got pneumonia with it

My granddaughter had her 2nd mmr jab a couple of weeks ago. She was 3 yrs 4 months which is the earliest they'll do it. She also had the booster for tetanus etc. they said side effects if any would be 6-12 days later when she might get a temperature and rash.
She's had no reaction whatsoever.

Good luck. And sorry about the neutropenia, it must be pretty annoying to say the least x

It's a pain. Was missed for 8 years until a locum GP spotted my count and sent me straight to hospital. Was 0.2 at diagnosis and they did over 50 blood tests as they said autoimmune neutropenia in adults is so rare

I really wouldnt beat yourself up op and give yourself some time to decide. Its highly unlikely your ds is going to catch measles tomorrow. Yes, catching measles can be very serious but it isnt always very serious. Most of our parents will never have had any MMR vaccine so you wont just drop dead because you didnt take it on time. The measles rate in the UK is rising due to falling uptake of the vaccine and in my opinion the uptake likely wont rise any time soon following the debate around the covid jabs and also we are in a generation where largely most of our generation have not seen widespread suffering due to viruses like the serious cases if measles, polio etc pp have mentioned because most of us were vaccinated. Whilst vaccine uptake has fallen, the vast majority are still vaccinated, i think its just under 90% although iv not checked the statistics for a while so dont quote me! Although measles rates are rising, you would still need to be very unlucky to catch it, the vast majority of the UK has no cases and where there are high numbers of cases its double digits. You can find up to date figures on the UK gov website. There are risks with any vaccine the same as with any medication. Take your time and feel confident in your way forwards. The gov website has so much info on every vaccine a child in the uk can get. You can read about all of the side effects as well as information about the virus it looks to protect against. I found this really helpful when my dd is due her vaccines. At every stage of being due vaccines i have done research on each one, mainly focusing on the illness itself - what are the chances if catching it? If caught how many cases are very serious? What would the outcomes be of catching it? What are the treatments? All of this information is on the uk gov website if you search uk gov and the name of the vaccine. Armed with facts, i then decide whether or not to take each specific vaccine offered to my child. I too was uneasy about injecting my young child but taking this approach has really helped me build confidence.

Thank you! May I ask you how you decided at the end ? Did you give them vaccines / MMR?

is it not an easy decision after the scary behaving after his vaccine at 18 months old 😔

All of this information is on the uk gov website if you search uk gov and the name of the vaccine. Armed with facts, i then decide whether or not to take each specific vaccine offered to my child.

It's totally sensible to read up on the vaccines available and be familiar with what is entailed.

Have you ever decided against?

i took him out from preschool until I make a decision

i took him out from preschool until I make a decision

Can I ask what will help you decide?

I also get where everyone is coming from but it’s easy for other people to say “take the vaccine “ until they won’t go through the same as some of us . Seeing a child acting differently/loosing skills it is absolutely heartbreaking 💔

I know vaccines are saving lives no doubt but not everyone has a same side effect

Personally I think because it's a guaranteed subject to cause a wind up...

Will you be keeping your child away from pregnant women and immunocompromised people, if you're failing to vaccinate them? I do understand that you're worried but it's much more worrying to see your child suffering from a easily-preventable disease, that you could have stopped them having to endure.

Correlation is not causation. Just because your child’s blinking and staring happened after his vaccination does not mean it happened because of his vaccination. If I were looking for a link, I’d be looking at the conjunctivitis he had for months.

I delayed MMR as did a couple of other parents I know. For none of us was it anything to do with autism. I find it strange this is also trotted out. I wonder if agencies would have more luck increasing immunisation if they really understood the reasons? Just my personal experience/opinion.

I would choose blinking over measles, personally.

I did not say I won’t vaccinate him. We have appointment already for the vaccine , I was just looking for other people experiences who were vaccinating late.

It was not just blinking … as I said who never went through something similar will never understand it

the blinking came a good few months before the conjunctivitis so there’s absolutely no link between

I’m sure I read some research somewhere that said that neurological issues can often present around 1-2 years of age, in a baby that was otherwise developing as expected, this issues were always going to present, but it seems a shock to be sudden, and coincides with the mmr which gets the blame for change in neurological behaviour. As a mum of a child who was 2 hours from death due a a disease for which there is no vaccine, I will vaccinate against anything I can