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Why get vaccinated?
Who
should get MMR vaccine and when?
Some
people should not get MMR Vaccine or should wait.
What are
the risks from MMR vaccine?
What if there is a moderate or severe reaction?
The
National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
How can I learn
more?
Why get Vaccinated?
Measles, mumps and rubella are serious diseases.
Measles
- Measles virus causes
rash, cough, runny nose, eye irritation, and fever.
- It can lead to ear
infections, pneumonia, seizures (jerking and staring), brain damage,
and death.
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Mumps
- Mumps virus causes
fever, headache, and swollen glands.
- It can lead to
deafness, meningitis (infection of the brain and spinal cord
covering), painful swelling of the testicles or ovaries, and rarely,
death.
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Rubella (German
Measles)
- Rubella virus
causes rash, mild fever, and arthritis (mostly in women)
- If a woman gets
rubella while she is pregnant, she could have a miscarriage or her
baby could be born with serious birth defects.
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You or your
child could catch these diseases by being around someone who has them.
They spread from person to person through the air. Measles, mumps, and
rubella (MMR) vaccine can prevent these diseases. Most children who get
their MMR shots will not get these diseases. Many more children would get
them if we stopped vaccinating.
Who should get MMR
vaccine and when?
Children should get 2 doses
of MMR vaccine:
-The first at 12-15 months of age
-and the second at 4-6 years of age
These are the recommended
ages. But children can get the second dose at any age, as long as it is
at
least 28 days after the first dose.
Some adults should
also get MMR vaccine:
Generally, anyone 18 years of age or older, who was born after 1956,
should get a at least one dose
of MMR vaccine, unless they can show that
they have had either the vaccines or the diseases. Ask your doctor or
nurse for more information. MMR vaccine may be given at the same time as
other vaccines.
Some
people should not get MMR vaccine or should wait.
--People should not get
MMR vaccine who have ever had a life-threatening allergic reaction to
gelatin, the antibiotic neomycin, or a previous dose of
MMR vaccine.
--People who are moderately
or severely ill at the time the shot is scheduled should usually wait
until they recover before getting MMR vaccine.
--Pregnant women should
wait to get MMR vaccine until after the have given birth. Women should not
get pregnant for 4 weeks after getting MMR vaccine.
--Some people should check
with their doctor about whether they should get MMR vaccine, including
anyone who:
- Has HIV/AIDS, or
another disease that affects the immune system
- Is being treated
with drugs that affect the immune system, such as steroids, for 2
weeks or longer
- Has any kind of
cancer
- Is taking cancer
treatment with x-rays or drugs
- Has ever had a low
platelet count (or blood disorder)
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People who recently had a
transfusion or were given other blood products should ask their doctor
when they may get MMR vaccine. Ask your doctor for more information.
What are the risks from
MMR vaccine?
A vaccine, like any
medicine, is capable of causing serious problems, such as severe allergic
reactions. The risk of MMR vaccine causing serious harm, or death, is
extremely small. Getting MMR vaccine is much safer than getting any of
these three diseases. Most people who get MMR vaccine
do not have any
problem with it.
Mild
Problems
- Fever (up to 1
person out of 6)
- Mild rash (about 1
person out of 20)
- Swelling of glands
in the cheeks or neck (rare)
If these problems occur, it is usually within 7-12 days after the
shot. They occur less often after the second dose
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Moderate Problems
- Seizure (jerking or
staring) caused by fever (about 1 out of 3,000 doses)
- Temporary pain and
stiffness in the joints, mostly in teenage or adult women (up to 1
out of 4)
- Temporary low
platelet count, which can cause a bleeding disorder (about 1 out of
30,000 doses)
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Severe
Problems (Very Rare)
- Serious allergic
reaction (less than 1 out of a million doses)
- Several other severe
problems have been known to occur after a child gets MMR vaccine.
But this happens so rarely, experts cannot be sure whether they are
caused by the vaccine or not. These include: deafness, long-term
seizures, coma, or lowered consciousness and/or permanent
brain damage
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What if there is
a moderate or severe reaction?
What should I look for?
Any unusual conditions, such as a allergic reaction, high fever or
behavior changes. Signs of a serious allergic reaction include: difficulty
breathing, hoarseness or wheezing, hives, paleness, weakness, a fast heart
beat or dizziness within a few minutes to a few hours after the shot. A
high fever or seizure,
if it occurs, would happen 1 or 2 weeks after the
shot.
What
should I do?
- Call a doctor, or
get the person to a doctor right away.
- Tell your doctor
what happened, the date and time it happened, and when the
vaccination was give.
- Ask your doctor,
nurse, or health department to file a Vaccine Adverse Event
Reporting
System (VAERS) form., or call VAERS yourself at
1-800-822-7967
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The National
Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
In the rare event that you or your child has a serious reaction to a
vaccine, a federal program has been created to help you pay for the care
of those who have been harmed.
For details about the
National Vaccine Injury Compensation's Program call 1-800-338-2382
or visit the program's website at
http://www.hrsa.dhhs.gov/bhpr/vicp
How can I learn more?
- Ask your doctor or
nurse. They can give you the vaccine package insert or suggest other
sources of information.
- Call your local or
state health department's immunization program.
- Contact the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):|
-Call 1-800-232-2522 (English)
-Call 1-800-232-0233 (Espanol)
-Visit the National Immunization Program's Website at
http://www.cdc.gov/nip
*Information
adapted from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services,
Center for disease Control and Prevention National Immunization
Program, Vaccine Information Sheet 1998 |
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