Be aware - if you had single jabs for mumps, measles and rubella your chn are not classed as fully vaccinated!!

[nickyjay2471]

That was the message I got from my drs, and confirmed when I contacted Public Health England. They are now saying they only count combined MMR jabs. Mine were vaccinated singly for first lot, then MMR booster. Now being told they need a further booster

They can be counted as valid. It's what HPA England includes in its stats. Then again, Wales also counts its cases differently (will accept doctors' diagnoses, England uses lab confirmed).

It's a pity, because clarity (and an agreed methodology) for whole of UK would mean that commentators would have a common starting point. The current differences will lead to more arguments over the stats, rather than proper consideration of vaccination.

What matters, especially now, is getting the vaccinations done. Not pushing one particular jab on children who have documented evidence that they have received a different jab with a measles component.

so they want kids who have had the single jabs to have the mmr as well?

I can understand discounting for the purpose of statistics but seriously?

Well dd had single vaccines (ds started the course but chickenpox interrupted it so he had MMR when he was 5) and I count her as vaccinated.

Vaccination doesn't guarantee immunity anyway

No Catherina, you posted two posts together just slightly up thread - the second one being where you agreed with me about something...

Bumbley - I'll make sure not to let it happen too often

I got word from PHW now - not very helpful:

^Public Health Wales

Hi there Catherina, sorry if we missed an earlier message from you. Two doses of the single measles vaccine would in theory fully vaccinate a child against measles but not against mumps and rubella. We do still see mumps outbreaks in Wales and it would be wise to ensure your children are fully protected against all three diseases. You should be aware that the single measles vaccine is not licensed for use in the UK or quality assured. Therefore our advice as health professionals would be that even if your children have received two doses of the single measles vaccine, you would be safest starting again with a full course of MMR. It is not possible to be over-vaccinated against measles so perfectly safe to start again. Hope that helps!^

I asked for further clarification, but I guess this is the official line "safest to start again with full course of MMR".

What is their huge investment in the MMR? It's no wonder people are suspicious when they are pushing it so hard.

Sassh, the singles are no less effective than the MMR at protecting against measles

Yes IF the vaccine has been imported and stored correctly. As I said, I know you would have researched, not everyone did.

If the MMR is not stored correctly it is useless, as are many other vaccines, most have to be kept chilled.

It is a reasonable assumption that MMR or a single jab given in an NHS doctor's surgery or hospital will have been stored correctly.

Unfortunately the records are just not there for singles since the NHS moved to MMR. You have paperwork that says your child was given the injection, you don't have the paper trail for the factory to injection and that is the problem.

Well most people will be having the vaccines in private clinics and given by doctors. They don't send them out in the post :) not sure why you don't tink there's a paper trail from the manufacturers. What are you basing that on?

Orlakiely

What is their huge investment in the MMR? It's no wonder people are suspicious when they are pushing it so hard.

I am going to totally venture out on a limb here, Orla, and propose that Public Health Wales "pushes" the MMR "so hard", because South Wales is in the middle of a measles epidemic with >800 cases and more new cases per day than the United States has had per year to date. They are looking at the first potential death and have had 80 or so highly contagious patients treated in their hospitals, which are no longer equipped to hold such patients. They have thousands more definitely unprotected Welsh to worry about and do not have the resources to treat each "may or may not be protected" person according to a half hour anamnesis plus titre test, so they are going for the £20/head solution, which is known to be effective to curb outbreaks and recommend that over risking a single patient in intensive care for 3 weeks. Because, as a Public Health Board, they have the responsibility for 3 million Welsh and are not the sort of private GP who sees a tiny section of the population well off enough to go for "individualised" solutions.

In other words - they are doing their jobs.

That doesn't really account for why they won't recognise people who have records of singles vaccines ( although I don't think they are asking all adults to come in for the MMR even though they would have been given singles when they were young)

Precisely. The singles are as effective, and you don't need to be 'considered' to be covered, if you have immunised your children singly, you know they are immunised and don't need to prove it to anyone else. The 'death' has been jumped on with glee (and out of desperation)by the NHS, I bet they were terrified there would be no 'death';s and so are grabbing thius one as a scare tactic, even though the unfortunate person may have had a rare conditon that would have mean that getting the jab would equally have casued complications. The outbreak has actully shown that measles is not as serious as we have been told about for years. How many people have died in Wales in car crashes since the measles outbreak?

Even with a private prescription, the manufacturer and batch number will be recorded (and put in your Red Book if you thought to take it along). It's administratively just as safe as MMR, and the transport/storage logistics are identical to NHS too. Where do you think jabs come from. They're not all manufactured within UK.

Someone posted a news article yesterday that said he had actually been in hospital for his asthma that week. Local people thought he had died from an asthma attack - i don't tgink that has been confirmed though. He had been vaccinated as well. Still too early to know the full story. I actually think it's pretty awful how his death is being splattered all over the newspapers. His poor family. :(

Apparently he had seen a doctor the night before because he had felt unwell and had come out in a rash. Why did the doctor not suspect measles in the middle of a measles outbreak? Maybe because he'd been vaccinated against it?

Catherina, I didn't mean at the moment. I meant in general.