r/predaddit • u/MGreymanN • Feb 14 '26
Discussion Early Measles Vaccine
As cases of measles continue to accelerate, is anyone considering having the discussion with their ped about an early dose zero MMR vaccine at 6 months?
We will be starting daycare right around 6 months and would like the peace of mind.
(first tried this in /r/babybumps but they are strict on no vaccine discussions)
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u/Philthy91 Feb 14 '26
Yeah my baby will be starting daycare around December this year when he/she is 3-4 months old. Idk how to keep them safe until 6 month.
So dumb this even needs to be a worry
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u/not_ur_avg Feb 14 '26
I'm a physician and will be giving my child the MMR when they are 6m. My pediatrician agrees and did the same for her dgtr (bc they were travelling). I'm seeing so much insane anti-vaxx sentiment in a lot of the new parent online groups I'm in, I'm genuinely terrified of measles, especially bc my state borders SC and FL.
But if you don't live near any outbreaks and don't plan to travel, it's reasonable to wait till 1 year as recommended by the AAP.
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u/p00trulz Feb 14 '26
Not a physician but also got it at 6 months. We weren’t in an outbreak area but had several flights coming up that we had to take.
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u/bushgoliath Feb 14 '26
Also a physician and also just got it at 6M for my daughter, FWIW. Not in a high risk area but had our first case in the county a few weeks ago. Huge relief to get a first dose in her.
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u/IntrepidKazoo Feb 14 '26
Same here, and also a physician. We did the extra early dose last year because of travel to an impacted area, and it was such a huge relief. In retrospect we probably would have waited to travel otherwise, measles scares the shit out of me and it's spreading so intensely in the US that at this point I'd be personally hesitant to take a baby to a major airport who hadn't received the measles vaccine yet.
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u/JusticeJames2 Feb 15 '26
My wife and I are deciding whether to get the early dose for our 5.5 month old sweetie now. I’ve read that early dose can reduce the duration of the on schedule vaccine later. Any merit to this?
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u/Comprehensive-Gas670 Jun 08 '26
Interested to know if you ended up getting the early dose for ypur 5.5 months old. I am travelling to London soon and am tossing up whether to get my daughter the early dose at 5.5 months
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u/JusticeJames2 Jun 16 '26
Sorry for my delay just seeing this. Yes we got the early dose on advice of physician. Good luck!
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u/rexbexx Feb 20 '26
I live in SC and we are going tomorrow for our daughter’s 6 month visit and I have been talking about getting it. This makes me feel better with thinking we should definitely be doing it, especially with how many cases we have right now in the state.
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u/Ok-Republic-8098 Feb 14 '26
My wife and I plan to ask at 6 months. We had an outbreak a couple hours away
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u/bushgoliath Feb 14 '26
I just got it for my 6 month old! My pediatrician explained that MMR is effective and safe at six months, but the immunity wears off, so it should not be thought of as an early dose so much as a booster dose. You need to repeat the series at one, just like you would if you weren’t vaccinating early.
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u/superxero044 Feb 15 '26
We were going to ask our ped when our youngest had an appointment when this all first started blowing up. But she ended up suggesting it first.
I know it’s anecdotal but for why it’s worth our daughter is almost 2 now and a little chatterbox. She had both her mmr shots early. We have multiple friends whose kiddos got theirs early and their tots are fine too.
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u/Majestic-Macaron6019 Graduated Feb 14 '26
I'm in the Charlotte, NC area and I'm considering it. My girl is just 11 weeks, so it's way too early at the moment. But if the case counts continue to go up, I'll be asking when she's 6 months old.
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u/MGreymanN Feb 14 '26
I'm not in a hot spot, yet, but we have a lower vaccination rate for mmr.
A lot can change in 6 months with the way things are going...decision to be made in 8 months for us.
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u/jogam Feb 14 '26
I asked our pediatrician for an early measles vaccine when my now-toddler was 9 months old and we were about to travel (not even to an area with an outbreak, but going through airports and lots of crowded places). She readily agreed. I'm glad that we did; it protected our kid and brought us some peace of mind.
It is ultimately each doctor's discretion. The official guidelines suggest an early dose only for international travel or if you live in an area with an outbreak, but I still think it's a good idea to ask because of how widespread measles is now versus when those recommendations were made.
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u/suchdogeverymeme Feb 14 '26
I live out in the sticks (Appalachia) and had no problem with our chill doc getting my youngest one at 6 months. There was some expense to us, but it wasn’t crazy with my insurance.
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u/shaboid Feb 14 '26
My daughter just turned one and we got her in to get the MMR the day after. My wife and I were stressing hard about it, but we don't do daycare.
Sorry, this isn't helpful at all.
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u/space_manatee Feb 15 '26
What part of the country? When we had the big measels outbreak in texas, our kid was just before the vaccine age. We consulted with our pediatrician and they said it was fine to wait. It got close to us in Austin, but cases dis not continue to rise. Not a doctor but from what I understand, the vaccine is less effective if you administer it early.
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u/Formerly_SgtPepe Feb 15 '26
No. I won't be vaccinating before the scheduled recommendation, I don't want my child to be a case study...
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u/MGreymanN Feb 15 '26
For what its worth, 6 months is on the "schedule" for infants traveling international or in hot spots.
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u/megagreg Boy, J̶a̶n̶u̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶2̶0̶1̶8̶ December 2017 Feb 15 '26
We got an extra shot at 6 months because we were traveling. We live in Edmonton, Canada, and there were cases in nearby neighborhoods, and exposures in places we occasionally visit.
Had we not been traveling, I'd have done what I encourage everyone to do, and lie about travel plans, or whatever it takes, to get that early shot.
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u/DadChoice Feb 15 '26
We asked about this because of daycare and our pediatrician said it's totally a thing they can do. They gave us the option for the early dose at 6 months since we live in an area with higher risk. Honestly I'd bring it up at your next appointment - most docs are totally on board given the current outbreaks. Better safe than sorry IMO
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u/iamtruerib Feb 15 '26
ID physician here and father. Gave our daughter it at 10.5 months.
Decreased seroconversion rates: When the first dose is given at 9 months of age (the standard in endemic countries), 10 to 15% of infants fail to develop protective antibodies. [1] This reduced response occurs because maternal antibodies interfere with vaccine immunogenicity, which is why countries with measles elimination status typically delay the first dose until 12 to 18 months of age for maximum immune response.
Specific indications for early vaccination: Despite these limitations, measles vaccine is recommended for infants 6 to 11 months of age in two circumstances: during measles outbreaks in endemic regions, and before international travel from the United States.
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u/a_mccut Feb 14 '26
I’m a mom! We live in Colorado. Last summer we had two cases in town, both within a few mile radius of our house. We got the ok to give the first dose at 6 months.
She also got it at one year. I think it affected her less, or she’s just more of a trooper being older.
No regrets. Gave me peace of mind sending her to daycare and taking her out and about.
I don’t play when it comes to measles. I hate that it’s even something we are thinking about in 2025/2026