Has anyone had their child's blood tested for immunity to MMR?

[Loco35]

My daughter is about to have her pre school boosters and I do not want her to have the MMR unless strictly necessary.

Has anyone had their child's blood tested for immunity to MMR? I read that this can be done easily and, for me, far outweighs the anxiety of unnecessary vaccinations.

I live in Kent and would really appreciate any tips/guidance on this.

I had mine tested for measles immunity in 2005, because I was unsure about the type of vaccine I got in the 60ies. In Germany, that was dirt cheap, something like 12.50 Euros. My GP here in the UK has prices between £60 and 80 posted per antigen for titres for M, M and R. It is definetely worth investigating and negotiating over the price...

Thanks, that's exactly how I feel. I believe in immunisation but not if it is not needed.

If I can be sure that she is protected against the diseases, I would absolutely not subject her to the MMR again.

I will make an appointment with my GP and see what he says.

We also had our DD1 tested at Dr Halvorsen's clinic. It turned out she had very high amount of immunity against all three, so absolutely no need for booster. No idea how long immunity lasts though...
Will probably do the same with DS, too.

Loco35

The reason for the booster is that in the early 1990s there were a number of children born with birth defects due to rubella - it was because not all children develop immunity to rubella with MMR so it was typically second or subsequent children who were infected in the womb by an older sibling whose MMR wasn't fully working.

It is cheaper and easier for most parents and doctors to give a booster rather than a blood test followed by a booster if needed, and then you would have to retest again after a couple more years, and then again.

Uni students are encouraged to have a booster if they missed it as a child.

The procedure for having a vaccine is far easier than for having a blood test. Having a vaccine to something that you are immune to is not harmful.

I wouldnt suggest attempting to negotiate on price of blood tests. The price may vary from place to place, but it will be set by the labs, and I suspect that even if you manage to persuade a GP to do the test they will have a 'take it or leave it' approach to it, rather than reducing the price if you try to negotiate.