Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) Vaccine

Measles is an illness caused by infection with the measles virus and is spread when an infected person talks, breathes, coughs or sneezes tiny virus particles in the air. One in 10 people who get this infection need to go to hospital¹.

Mumps is an infection of the salivary glands caused by the mumps virus and is spread the same way as measles.

Rubella is known as German measles and is caused by the rubella virus. It is spread when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes small droplets containing the virus into the air. It can also be spread through indirect contact with hands, tissues or other articles soiled by nose and throat particles².

Rubella infection in a pregnant woman in the first eight to 10 weeks can result in the death or damage to the foetus in up to 90%^ of cases². Mild defects in babies are also common, including deafness, blindness, brain and heart damage and other complications are being increasingly recognised.

¹Health Navigator NZ, Measles, Mumps and Rubella, accessed 30 January 2023

²South Australia Health, Rubella - including symptoms, treatment and prevention, accessed 30 January 2023

The MMR vaccine is a combination vaccine as it provokes an adequate immune response in children for the three infections. There are no single vaccines available for these infections.

This vaccine is a live vaccine, which means the viruses cause a harmless infection in your body with very few, if any, symptoms before the viruses are eliminated from the body¹.

Your immune system will fight the infection caused by these weakened viruses, and immunity (the body’s protection from the virus) develops, which is how you become immunised from Measles, Mumps and Rubella.

¹South Australia Health, Rubella - including symptoms, treatment and prevention, accessed 30 January 2023

The symptoms vary across the diseases and can be seen below.

Measle symptoms

• Fever
• Tiredness
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Photophobia (discomfort when looking at light)¹

Mumps symptoms

• Swelling of the glands on the side of the face and along the jawline
• Fever
• Headache
• Meningitis (inflammation of the brain and spinal cord)²

Rubella symptoms

• Fever
• Rash
• Headache
• Swollen glands (especially at the back of your neck)
• Joint pain³

¹South Australia Health, Measles - including symptoms, treatment and prevention, accessed 30 January 2023

²South Australia Health, Mumps - including symptoms, treatment and prevention, accessed 30 January 2023

³South Australia Health, Rubella - including symptoms, treatment and prevention, accessed 30 January 2023

You can get diagnosed with measles through a blood test, or detection of the virus in urine, throat or your eyes¹.

You can be diagnosed with mumps through laboratory testing of saliva collected from a swab from the inside of your mouth or through a blood test².

You can be diagnosed with rubella through a blood test³.

¹South Australia Health, Measles - including symptoms, treatment and prevention, accessed 30 January 2023

²South Australia Health, Mumps - including symptoms, treatment and prevention, accessed 30 January 2023

³South Australia Health, Rubella - including symptoms, treatment and prevention, accessed 30 January 2023

The Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is a combination vaccine that helps prevent you getting measles, mumps and rubella.

This vaccine is given in two stages at least four weeks apart. However, this varies for children.

Children should be given the MMR vaccine at 12 months of age and the second dose should be given at 18 months of age as the Measles-Mumps-Rubella-Varicella (MMRV) vaccine.

Blooms The Chemist does not offer the MMRV vaccine, as Pharmacists are not authorised to administer MMRV.

Some common side effects of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine include¹:

• Pain, redness and swelling at the injection site
• Fever seven to 10 days after the vaccine
• A cough
• Head cold or a runny nose
• Generalised faint rash five to 12 days after the vaccine

¹South Australia Health, Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, accessed 30 January 2023

You can check if your local Blooms The Chemist offers the vaccine by visiting the Store Finder and clicking on "Filter by vaccine".

Children aged 12 months and 18 months are eligible for the free MMR vaccine through the National Immunisation Program (NIP).

However, Pharmacists at Blooms The Chemist can only vaccinate children aged five and above and this varies depending on the state and territory where you live.

The MMR vaccine is recommended for:

• Children over the age of 12 months
• Adolescents and adults born during or since 1966 who have not received 2 doses of the MMR vaccine
• Healthcare workers, childhood educators and travellers.

If you are eligible for a vaccination under the National Immunisation Program (NIP), you may need to confirm with your selected Blooms The Chemist pharmacy about their NIP vaccine stock availability. Please note that there may be a service fee associated with a NIP vaccination.

As this vaccine contains small amounts of the live virus, some people may not be eligible to receive it. This includes¹:

• Pregnant people
• People who have a severely weakened immune system
• People who have had a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to this vaccine or parts of this vaccine previously
• Had another live vaccine within the past four weeks

¹Health Navigator NZ, Measles, Mumps and Rubella, accessed 30 January 2023

Varicella, or chickenpox, can be highly contagious to people who haven’t had the disease or been vaccinated against it. Many people develop itchy, blister like rashes on the skin that fill up with fluid.

You don’t need a prescription to get this vaccine from participating Blooms The Chemist pharmacies. 

If you’d like to learn more about varicella, please click here.