Single Measles Vaccine - Baby Jabs

[Luciaandbear]

Hi everybody. I was wondering if anybody has any experience with having the single measles vaccine as opposed to the MMR, DD is 16 months old and has had every vaccination except her MMR.

My daughter has quite a bad cows milk protein allergy and has recently just been discharged from a short stay in hospital due to a small bleed caused by cows milk reaction. We’ve figured she can have milk cooked into meals etc but not at its rawest form (whole milk drink). She has also been referred to our local children’s hospital for tests regarding her immune system. She is ill a lot requiring hospitalisation usually due to a really high fever often reaching 40.0c

I must add - I do not believe for a second MMR causes autism and this is NOT the reason she hasn’t had it yet. If it is found she is immunodeficient in whatever way she will be unable to have the MMR as It is a contraindication. I have therefore delayed her MMR in case she is immunocompromised and ends up severely ill from the vaccine. I for some reason do not feel comfortable giving her the MMR until I know for sure her immune system is ok. Ive done a lot of research and spoke to a few different consultants and I’ve read about a single measles vaccine. I’m aware of all the horrid complications of all 3 measles, mumps and rubella but feel I can wait to get her immunised against rubella and mumps at a later stage in her life. I do more than anything want to vaccinate my daughter against measles and I’m starting to panic taking her places whilst she isn’t immune.

I’m not looking for an argument as I’m aware this is a very emotive subject. I only want to know of experiences and some advice... if so how did your babies react to the single measles vaccine. Would you recommend it?

Thank you

I don’t quite follow your logic. The single measles vaccine is also live, so would offer no benefit beyond the MMR. Also it would be imported, and can be difficult to obtain, with no guarantee of safe storage and transit.

What have your consultants said? A child would need to be severely immunocompromised not to receive MMR, such as being neutropenic, after a bone marrow transplant, undergoing chemo, or similar.

Ironically if your child has some immune issues it can be even more pressing to give her MMR as she is so vulnerable.

I can understand wanting to delay MMR immunisation given her history, but I think you need to be guided by your consultants. I don’t think giving the single measles vaccine is an option.

(For what it’s worth I’m a practice nurse of 20 years and have extensive experience of child immunisations)

Hi Sidge

Thanks for your reply I appreciate it.

Reading what I said back it sounds chaotic and it doesn't really make sense

My daughter has the option to go privately for a private single measles vaccine at the baby jabs clinic in Manchester/London. There are other clinics across the UK that offer single measles vaccine at a cost of around £120. I'm aware the single measles vaccine is live as is the MMR but surely overloading an already sensitive immune system with 3 live elements will do more harm than just the single measles vaccine. If you can see where I am coming from?

I've read things of children developing encephalitis following the MMR and parents claiming their child was 'never the same' again. I understand the complications of measles are much worse than this and this is why I am eager to vaccinate her against it one way or the other. I just feel giving her the single measles vaccine is a way in which I can compromise mentally.

Her hospital appointment is 4 months away and I feel I cannot leave her unvaccinated for this length of time.

It's great that you are a nurse with years of experience - you'll have a much better understanding on the topic than I do!

As a side issue how did you figure out your DD could have milk cooked in food? My Niece is 3.5 yrs old with CMPA which sounds less serious than your DD (no hospitalisation) but she can't have any cows milk, cooked or otherwise. She is still failing her milk ladder.

Hi RandomFriday

I believe this is common. My daughters dietician told us to start the milk ladder at 10 months old in which she failed early on. We got 2 steps up the milk ladder only to see a return in her symptoms.

We then reattempted at 12-13 months old cooking milk into foods making sauces and in pies and pastry etc. She tolerated this well without any side effects. She has been on yogurt pots for a while now which she loves and had no side effect. Only 1 per day so not massive amounts of dairy so after speaking to dietitian she advised we put her on cows milk and see. Low and behold 2 weeks later she had a distended stomach, gastric issues, rash and bleeding in her stools!

We saw a consultant upon discharge who advised this is common amongst babies with CMPA and it's something about milk in its rawest form that triggers the reaction. Hopefully she will grow out of it. Only time will tell xxx

Are your daughter's consultants advising you to delay or avoid the MMR and go for a single vaccine?

Both vaccines are live. Which one you choose will just depend on what you prefer your child to have immunity for all 3 at around the same time, or if you believe a delay in protection is acceptable (the single doses needs to be spread out). This does depend on where you live and if there are epidemics in the area.

What advice are your doctors giving you on this?

I have a condition that means I cannot have live vaccines. That means all of them.

So if you have been advised to avoid live vaccines until more test information is available, then she should have none whatsoever. Not singly, not combined - none.

When you get the all clear (and I hope it’s when, rather than ‘if’) get MMR asap.

It is for the protection of people who cannot have certain vaccines that we need good herd immunity. I can understand why you are so worried, but you really shouldn't be mucking round with any live vaccines whilst you do not know if it is safe.

Vulnerable DC who can receive live vaccines get them all on schedule, so I hope you get good news soon

Well the “overload” theory doesn’t apply, the immune system handles the vaccine in phase which is why they can potentially get a further little wave of side effects in 7-14 days.

I’d also be asking where the baby jabs clinics import their vaccines from, and if they can guarantee cold chain continuity and safety.

I’ve seen encephalitis after wild measles, but not after vaccination if that’s any consolation. I appreciate its anecdotal but I’ve vaccinated thousands and thousands of babies and children with MMR (and many adults) and have never seen any side effects more serious than a fever, sore limbs and some lymphadenopathy and lethargy. All “normal” side effects. Given that all imms reactions and yellow card scheme notifications are copied to us, I would have known about them.

I hope you find that reassuring.

The consultant she most recently saw (regarding the CMPA) didn't know much of her history as he was an A&E emergency Medicine consultant and said without an in detail examination of her and detailed history he wouldn't be able to tell exactly. He said a child who was immunocompromised doesn't present like my daughter (thank god) but said it cannot be ruled out without the above. He did say she should be okay with the MMR and rolled his eyes when I mentioned a single measles vaccine (probably thought I was referring to autism scares etc)

It was the imms nurse who told me to delay the MMR untill we know for sure. She went ahead and had everything else without a reaction. Tbh we've had no real advice on what to do for the best. We're just waiting it out untill the referral in 4 months time.

I contacted a dr privately who works in Great Ormond Street hospital and had a very brief chat with him and explained Lucia's situation with the recurrent infections and the allergies as well as family history of allergies and he said it was good to go for MMR and to not proceed with single jabs as they're effectiveness is not known and he feels companies who do this make profits for themselves on the back of scaring parents. He did not however access any of DD medical records to fully evaluate her situation.

Sidge - you're really helping to reassure me thank you so much. The MMR has such a stigma attached to it it's frightening. I'm not at all worried about it causing autism. Not one bit. I'm more worried about DD having a personality change and 'never being the same again' like you read on some of the threads on here. And the parents who claim they're normal, healthy children were damaged neurologically (encephalitis etc) from the MMR and the doctors, GP's fobbed them off as 'coincidental' illness after receiving their needles. I feel like I'm stuck in 2 minds and just can't make the right decision)

Thanks everyone for the replies!

You say you're not worried about autism. But those stories of children " changing" after MMR are about autism. The " stigma" is entirely caused by a completely discredited report by a charlatan who is now struck off.

Your DD's condition may mean delaying it. As has been explaine a single vax would be unwise too in that case. In your situation I'd talk to her GP and HV if applicable, as well as the consultant and go from there.

There is no case for her having single vaccines rather than mmr . I have slightly lost track as regards her immune system but would follow her consultant's advice. If you are still feeling uncertain there may be a local paediatric consultant with expertise in allergies with whom you could consult , queries around vaccines and their safety come up very regularly for them .

Presumably you're unaware that the single dose rubella vaccine is no longer manufactured? So if you go down the single vaccine route your dd will never be immunised against rubella?

We delayed to 18 months on advice of our paediatrician but this was only 3 years after the Andrew Wakefield paper and her elder sister was diagnosed with autism when dd2 was 8 months old - even then he was sure the report was wrong but delaying by 6 months (it was given at a year then) made sense to him. I would delay rather than use the single vaccine because rubella is so dangerous to unborn babies

Thanks for the replies everyone I have a very wild dd on my hands sorry for the delay in response to everybody.

The only reason I want Lucia to have the single measles jab at the moment is because in the words of the nurse at our local children's hospital 'measles is in the community'. I've read in scenarios where the MMR is not an option for certain individuals the single measles vaccine is an alternative. That's why I was asking for experiences etc. There is a clinic not far from where we live that do offer a single measles vaccine at a cost of £120. They are a real company who are allowed to give it to children. There's quite a few actually. Baby Jabs ran by Dr Richard Harvolsen, Breakspear medical.. they all offer the single measles vaccine for parents who do not want their child to be vaccinated routinely on the NHS.

In a normal scenario with a child without allergies and a potential immune problem she would of had the MMR 3 months ago. I'm under the impression that if DD was to have the single measles vaccine just to get her through the current outbreak in our community she can go on to have the MMR at a later date to protect her from the other 2 diseases?

DD hasn't got any official immune problem diagnosis. It is all speculations and 'let's see what the drs have to say' in regards to her immune system. Her cows milk allergy however has been diagnosed and we have managed that since she was 4 months, she is now 16 months.

Thanking you all

The issue is the vaccines are live regardless of whether given singly or not. If that is the issue preventing your DD having her vacinations then you'll have to wait.

If not then go for MMR .

Richard Halvorsen of Baby Jabs makes money directly from single measles vaccination and has publicly supported the MMR-autism connection. He has no specific qualifications in Paediatrics, child development, or immunology. People worry appropriately about financial conflicts of interest, Big Pharma influence, and motivated reasoning in scientific research, but you won't find examples more blatant than this.
No NHS doctor or nurse has their income determined by whether you give routine childhood immunisations or not.