Measles vaccine

File:Measles US 1938-2019.png

File:Measles Canada 1924-2018.png

File:Measles incidence England&Wales 1940-2007.png.]]

One dose is about 93% effective while two doses of the vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing measles. Before the widespread use of the vaccine, measles was so common that infection was considered "as inevitable as death and taxes."{{cite journal | vauthors = Babbott FL, Gordon JE | title = Modern measles | journal = The American Journal of the Medical Sciences | volume = 228 | issue = 3 | pages = 334–61 | date = September 1954 | pmid = 13197385 | doi = 10.1097/00000441-195409000-00013 }} In the United States, reported cases of measles fell from 3 to 4 million with 400 to 500 deaths to {{clarify|text=tens of thousands|reason=tens of thousands of cases or of deaths? the reader should not have to guess; "fell from" requires also stating the new number of deaths/year|date=March 2025}} per year following introduction of two measles vaccines in 1963 (both an inactivated and a live attenuated vaccine (Edmonston B strain) were licensed for use, see chart at right).{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00041753.htm|title=Measles Prevention: Recommendations of the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee (ACIP)|website=www.cdc.gov|access-date=27 April 2020|archive-date=15 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515055632/http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00041753.htm|url-status=live}} Increasing uptake of the vaccine following outbreaks in 1971 and 1977 brought this down to thousands of cases per year in the 1980s. An outbreak of almost 30,000 cases in 1990 led to a renewed push for vaccination and the addition of a second vaccine to the recommended schedule. No more than 220 cases were reported in any year from 1997 to 2013, and the disease was believed no longer endemic in the United States.{{cite journal | author = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | title = Summary of notifiable diseases, United States, 1993 | journal = MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report | volume = 42 | issue = 53 | pages = i–xvii; 1–73 | date = 1994 | pmid = 9247368 | url = http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00035381.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100309075517/http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00035381.htm | archive-date = 9 March 2010 }}{{cite journal | author = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | title = Summary of notifiable diseases, United States, 2007 | journal = MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report | volume = 56 | issue = 53 | pages = 1–94 | date = July 2007 | url = https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5653a1.htm | access-date = 10 September 2017 | archive-date = 13 June 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180613234236/https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5653a1.htm | url-status = live }}{{cite book | vauthors = Wallace G, Leroy Z | chapter = Measles | veditors = Hamborsky J, Kroger A, Wolfe S | title = Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases | edition = 13th | year = 2015 | chapter-url = https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/meas.html | location = Washington D.C. | publisher = Public Health Foundation | access-date = 30 April 2019 | archive-date = 7 February 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150207061223/http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/meas.html | url-status = live }} In 2014, 667 cases were reported.{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html |title=Measles Cases and Outbreaks |access-date=30 November 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213145736/http://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html |archive-date=13 February 2015}}

The benefits of measles vaccination in preventing illness, disability, and death have been well documented. Within the first 20 years of being licensed in the U.S., measles vaccination prevented an estimated 52 million cases of the disease, 17,400 cases of intellectual disability, and 5,200 deaths.{{cite journal | vauthors = Bloch AB, Orenstein WA, Stetler HC, Wassilak SG, Amler RW, Bart KJ, Kirby CD, Hinman AR | title = Health impact of measles vaccination in the United States | journal = Pediatrics | volume = 76 | issue = 4 | pages = 524–32 | date = October 1985 | doi = 10.1542/peds.76.4.524 | pmid = 3931045 | s2cid = 6512947 }} From 1999 to 2004 a strategy led by the WHO and UNICEF led to improvements in measles vaccination coverage that averted an estimated 1.4 million measles deaths worldwide.{{cite journal | author = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | title = Progress in reducing global measles deaths, 1999-2004 | journal = MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report | volume = 55 | issue = 9 | pages = 247–9 | date = March 2006 | pmid = 16528234 | url = https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5509a8.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071016143014/http://cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5509a8.htm | url-status = live | archive-date = 16 October 2007 }} The vaccine for measles led to the near-complete elimination of the disease in the United States and other developed countries. While the vaccine is made with a live virus which can cause side effects, these are far fewer and less serious than the sickness and death caused by measles itself; side effects ranging from rashes to, rarely, convulsions, occur in a small percentage of recipients.{{cite news | vauthors = Collins H | title = The Man Who Saved Your Life - Maurice R. Hilleman - Developer of Vaccines for Mumps and Pandemic Flu | url=http://www.njabr.org/njsor/science_superstars/maurice_hilleman/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306224906/http://www.njabr.org/njsor/science_superstars/maurice_hilleman/ | archive-date=6 March 2009 | url-status=dead | work = The Philadelphia Inquirer | date = 30 August 1999 | access-date=28 January 2020 }}

Measles vaccination averted 57 million deaths between 2000 and 2022, as per World Health Organization report.{{Cite web |title=Measles |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles |access-date=21 August 2024 |website=www.who.int |language=en}}

Measles is common worldwide. Although it was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, high rates of vaccination and excellent communication with those who refuse vaccination are needed to prevent outbreaks and sustain the elimination of measles. Of the 66 cases of measles reported in the U.S. in 2005, slightly over half were attributable to one unvaccinated teenager who became infected during a visit to Romania.{{cite journal | author = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | title = Measles--United States, 2005 | journal = MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report | volume = 55 | issue = 50 | pages = 1348–51 | date = December 2006 | pmid = 17183226 | url = https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5550a2.htm | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150313120119/http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5550a2.htm | url-status = live | archive-date = 13 March 2015 }} This individual returned to a community with many unvaccinated children. The resulting outbreak infected 34 people, mostly children and virtually all unvaccinated; three of them were hospitalized. The public health response required making almost 5,000 phone calls as part of contact tracing, arranging and performing testing as needed, and arranging emergency vaccination for at-risk people who had had contact with this person. Taxpayers and local healthcare organizations likely paid more than US$167,000 in direct costs to contain this one outbreak. A major epidemic was averted due to high rates of vaccination in the surrounding communities.{{cite journal | vauthors = Parker AA, Staggs W, Dayan GH, Ortega-Sánchez IR, Rota PA, Lowe L, Boardman P, Teclaw R, Graves C, LeBaron CW | title = Implications of a 2005 measles outbreak in Indiana for sustained elimination of measles in the United States | journal = The New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 355 | issue = 5 | pages = 447–55 | date = August 2006 | pmid = 16885548 | doi = 10.1056/NEJMoa060775 | doi-access = free }}

When addressing the major U.S. measles outbreak in 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that outbreaks are more likely in areas with pockets of unvaccinated residents.{{Cite web |last=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=15 May 2021 |title=Measles cases and outbreaks |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515151956/https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html |access-date=1 April 2025 |website=web.archive.org}} However, during the U.S. outbreak beginning in February 2025, the agency declined to publicize their updated expert assessment and forecasting model supporting this conclusion, thereby choosing not to alert clinicians and the public of being at specific risk in areas with low immunization rates.{{Cite web |last=Callahan |first=Patricia |date=28 March 2025 |title=The CDC buried a measles forecast that stressed the need for vaccinations |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/measles-vaccine-rfk-cdc-report |access-date=1 April 2025 |website=ProPublica |language=en}}

The vaccine has nonspecific effects such as preventing respiratory infections, that may be greater than those of measles prevention alone.{{cite journal | vauthors = Mina MJ | title = Measles, immune suppression and vaccination: direct and indirect nonspecific vaccine benefits | journal = The Journal of Infection | volume = 74 | issue = Suppl 1 | pages = S10–S17 | date = June 2017 | pmid = 28646947 | doi = 10.1016/S0163-4453(17)30185-8 }} These benefits are greater when the vaccine is given before one year of age.{{cite journal | vauthors = Nic Lochlainn LM, de Gier B, van der Maas N, van Binnendijk R, Strebel PM, Goodman T, de Melker HE, Moss WJ, Hahné SJ | title = Effect of measles vaccination in infants younger than 9 months on the immune response to subsequent measles vaccine doses: a systematic review and meta-analysis | language = English | journal = The Lancet. Infectious Diseases | volume = 19 | issue = 11 | pages = 1246–1254 | date = November 2019 | pmid = 31548081 | pmc = 6838663 | doi = 10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30396-2 }} A high-titre vaccine resulted in worse outcomes in girls, and consequently is not recommended by the World Health Organization.{{cite journal | vauthors = Sankoh O, Welaga P, Debpuur C, Zandoh C, Gyaase S, Poma MA, Mutua MK, Hanifi SM, Martins C, Nebie E, Kagoné M, Emina JB, Aaby P | title = The non-specific effects of vaccines and other childhood interventions: the contribution of INDEPTH Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems | journal = International Journal of Epidemiology | volume = 43 | issue = 3 | pages = 645–653 | date = June 2014 | pmid = 24920644 | pmc = 4052142 | doi = 10.1093/ije/dyu101 }}

The immune response to the measles vaccine can be impaired by the presence of parasitic infections such as helminthiasis.{{cite journal | vauthors = Natukunda A, Zirimenya L, Nassuuna J, Nkurunungi G, Cose S, Elliott AM, Webb EL | title = The effect of helminth infection on vaccine responses in humans and animal models: A systematic review and meta-analysis | journal = Parasite Immunology | volume = 44 | issue = 9 | pages = e12939 | date = September 2022 | pmid = 35712983 | pmc = 9542036 | doi = 10.1111/pim.12939 }}

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends two doses of vaccine for all children. In countries with a high risk of disease the first dose should be given around nine months of age. Otherwise it can be given at twelve months of age. The second dose should be given at least one month after the first dose. This is often done at age 15 to 18 months. After one dose at the age of nine months 85% are immune, while a dose at twelve months results in 95% immunity.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children aged six to eleven months traveling outside the United States receive their first dose of MMR vaccine before departure{{cite web|title=Vaccine (Shot) for Measles |date=2 August 2019 |url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/measles.html |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)|access-date=29 January 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129171152/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/diseases/measles.html|archive-date=29 January 2020}} {{PD-notice}} and then receive two more doses; one at 12–15 months (12 months for children in high-risk areas) and the second as early as four weeks later. Otherwise the first dose is typically given at 12–15 months and the second at 4–6 years.{{cite web | title=Birth-18 Years Immunization Schedule | website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | date=5 February 2019 | url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html#note-mmr | access-date=29 January 2020 | archive-date=6 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306220930/http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html#note-mmr | url-status=live }} {{PD-notice}}

In the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) recommendation is for a first dose at around 13 months of age and the second at three years and four months old.{{cite web |title=Measles |url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/measles/ |website=National Health Service UK |access-date=11 March 2019 |date=20 October 2017 |archive-date=8 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190308023737/https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/measles/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web | title=MMR vaccine overview | website=National Health Service UK | date=8 October 2019 | url=https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/mmr-vaccine/ | access-date=29 January 2020 | archive-date=31 January 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131124838/http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/MMR/Pages/FAQs.aspx | url-status=live }}

In Canada, Health Canada recommends that children traveling outside North America should receive an MMR vaccine if they are aged six to 12 months. However, after the child is 12 months old they should receive two additional doses to ensure long-lasting protection.{{Cite web |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/canadian-immunization-guide-part-4-active-vaccines/page-12-measles-vaccine.html |title=Measles vaccine: Canadian immunization guide |date=18 July 2007 |website=Public Health Agency of Canada |access-date=13 March 2019 |archive-date=17 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190317001502/https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/canadian-immunization-guide-part-4-active-vaccines/page-12-measles-vaccine.html |url-status=live }}

Adverse effects associated with the MMR vaccine include fever, rash, injection site pain, and, in rare cases, red or purple discolorations on the skin known as thrombocytopenic purpura, or seizures related to fever (febrile seizure).{{cite web | title = Information Sheet: Observed Rate of Vaccine Reactions: Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccines | url = https://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/initiative/tools/MMR_vaccine_rates_information_sheet.pdf | publisher = World Health Organization (WHO) | date = May 2014 | access-date = 1 December 2018 | archive-date = 17 December 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191217095809/https://www.who.int/vaccine_safety/initiative/tools/MMR_vaccine_rates_information_sheet.pdf | url-status = live }}{{cite journal | vauthors = Di Pietrantonj C, Rivetti A, Marchione P, Debalini MG, Demicheli V | title = Vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella in children | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | volume = 2021 | issue = 11 | pages = CD004407 | date = November 2021 | pmid = 34806766 | pmc = 8607336 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD004407.pub5 }}

{{main|MMR vaccine and autism}}

In 1998, Andrew Wakefield et al. published a now retracted and fraudulent The Lancet paper linking the MMR vaccine to autism, leading to a decline in vaccination rates.{{cite journal | vauthors = Wakefield AJ, Murch SH, Anthony A, Linnell J, Casson DM, Malik M, Berelowitz M, Dhillon AP, Thomson MA, Harvey P, Valentine A, Davies SE, Walker-Smith JA | title = Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children | journal = Lancet | volume = 351 | issue = 9103 | pages = 637–641 | date = February 1998 | pmid = 9500320 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(97)11096-0 | url = http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-paper.htm | access-date = 5 September 2007 | url-status = live | s2cid = 439791 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927010149/http://briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-paper.htm | archive-date = 27 September 2007 | url-access = subscription }}{{Retracted|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60175-4|pmid=20137807|http://retractionwatch.com/the-retraction-watch-leaderboard/top-10-most-highly-cited-retracted-papers/ Retraction Watch|http://retractionwatch.com/2015/02/03/frauds-long-tail-measles-outbreak-shows-important-look-downstream-retractions/ Retraction Watch|intentional=yes}}{{cite journal | title = Retraction—Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children | journal = Lancet | volume = 375 | issue = 9713 | pages = 445 | date = February 2010 | pmid = 20137807 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60175-4 | s2cid = 26364726 | author=((The Editors of The Lancet)) }}{{cite news | vauthors = Triggle N | title=Lancet accepts MMR study 'false' | website=BBC News | date=2 February 2010 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8493753.stm | access-date=11 June 2022 | archive-date=3 November 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103171340/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8493753.stm | url-status=live }} Wakefield was later found to have been "dishonest" by the General Medical Council and barred from practicing medicine in the UK.{{cite news| vauthors = Jardine C |title=GMC brands Dr Andrew Wakefield 'dishonest, irresponsible and callous'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/7095145/GMC-brands-Dr-Andrew-Wakefield-dishonest-irresponsible-and-callous.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/7095145/GMC-brands-Dr-Andrew-Wakefield-dishonest-irresponsible-and-callous.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=31 January 2015|work=The Telegraph|date=29 January 2010|location=London}}{{cbignore}} Numerous subsequent studies and reviews by organizations such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute of Medicine, NHS, and Cochrane Library have found no evidence of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.{{cite journal | vauthors = Di Pietrantonj C, Rivetti A, Marchione P, Debalini MG, Demicheli V | title = Vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella in children | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | volume = 2021 | issue = 11 | pages = CD004407 | date = November 2021 | pmid = 34806766 | pmc = 8607336 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD004407.pub5 }}{{cite web | title = Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) Vaccine | publisher = U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | date = 24 August 2018 | url = https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/mmr-vaccine.html | access-date = 28 November 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221128012741/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/mmr-vaccine.html |archive-date = 28 November 2022}}{{cite web | title = Autism and Vaccines - Vaccine Safety | publisher = U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | date = 24 August 2018 | url = https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html | access-date = 28 November 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221128012758/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html | archive-date = 28 November 2022 | url-status = live }} The controversy surrounding Wakefield's publication led to decreased MMR vaccination rates and a subsequent increase in measles cases in the UK.{{cite journal | vauthors = Thomas J | year = 2010 | title = Paranoia strikes deep: MMR vaccine and autism | url = https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/paranoia-strikes-deep-mmr-vaccine-and-autism | archive-url = https://archive.today/20150409124829/http://www.searchmedica.com/resource.html?rurl=http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1531916 | url-status = live | archive-date = 9 April 2015 | journal = Psychiatric Times | volume = 27 | issue = 3 | pages = 1–6 }} In Japan, where the MMR vaccine is not used as a combined vaccine, autism rates have remained unaffected, further disproving Wakefield's hypothesis.{{cite journal | vauthors = Honda H, Shimizu Y, Rutter M | title = No effect of MMR withdrawal on the incidence of autism: a total population study | journal = Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines | volume = 46 | issue = 6 | pages = 572–579 | date = June 2005 | pmid = 15877763 | doi = 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01425.x | s2cid = 10253998 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.579.1619 }}

According to a 2019 Los Angeles Times article, concerns were raised about unvaccinated students

contributing to the large number of measles outbreaks.{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-measles-outbreaks-los-angeles-colleges-20190423-story.html |title=Measles' next target in Los Angeles: Unvaccinated college students | vauthors = Karlamangla S |date=23 April 2019 |access-date=24 April 2019 |work=Los Angeles Times}}

While Robert F. Kennedy Jr{{emdash}}United States Secretary of Health and Human Services{{emdash}} publicly supported Wakefield's disproven theory that vaccines cause autism,{{Cite news| vauthors = Korecki N | title = Autism community fears RFK Jr. would set back decades of progress| work = NBC News| access-date = 1 March 2025| date = 29 January 2025| url = https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/autism-community-fears-rfk-jr-progress-rcna188885}} and was the founder of the anti-vaccine Children's Health Defense, on 28 February, during the 2025 Southwest US measles outbreak, he announced that he would be sending 2,000 doses of the MMR vaccine to Texas along with other resources.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/01/kennedy-jr-measles-outbreak-health-department|date=1 March 2025 |access-date=1 March 2025 |work=The Guardian |title=Kennedy Jr backtracks and says US measles outbreak is now a 'top priority' for health department}} A New York Times article reporting on the death of a child in Texas from measles{{emdash}}the first in ten years in the United States, said that vaccine hesitancy had been rising for many years.{{Cite news| issn = 0362-4331| vauthors = Rosenbluth T, Rios D | title = In Texas Measles Outbreak, Signs of a Riskier Future for Children| work = The New York Times| access-date = 1 March 2025| date = 28 February 2025| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/health/texas-measles-vaccine.html}}

Some people shouldn't receive the measles or MMR vaccine, including cases of:

• Pregnancy: MMR vaccine and its components should not be given to pregnant women.{{cite web | url = https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pregnancy/hcp-toolkit/guidelines.html | title = Guidelines for Vaccinating Pregnant Women | date = August 2016 | work = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | access-date = 30 April 2019 | archive-date = 6 April 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200406003822/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pregnancy/hcp-toolkit/guidelines.html | url-status = live }} Women of childbearing age should check with their doctor about getting vaccinated prior to getting pregnant.{{Cite web|title=MMR Vaccination {{!}} What You Should Know {{!}} Measles, Mumps, Rubella {{!}} CDC|url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/public/index.html|date=24 December 2019|website=www.cdc.gov|language=en-us|access-date=30 April 2020|archive-date=26 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426105545/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/public/index.html|url-status=live}}
• HIV-infected children, who may receive measles vaccines if their CD4+ lymphocyte count is greater than 15%.{{cite book | chapter = Contraindications and Precautions | title = Vaccine Recommendations and Guidelines of the ACIP | chapter-url = https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/general-recs/contraindications.html | publisher = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | date = 23 April 2020 | access-date = 30 April 2019 | archive-date = 1 May 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190501034917/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/general-recs/contraindications.html | url-status = live }}
• Weakened immune system due to HIV/AIDS or certain medical treatments
• Having a parent or sibling with a history of immune problems
• Condition that makes a patient bruise or bleed easily
• Recent transfusion of blood or blood products
• Tuberculosis
• Receiving other vaccines in the past 4 weeks
• Moderate or severe illness. However, mild illness (e.g., common cold) is usually not contraindicated.

File:Share of one-year olds who have received measles vaccinations, OWID chart.png

File:Measles cases graph.svg

John Franklin Enders, who had shared the 1954 Nobel Prize in Medicine for work on the polio virus, sent Thomas C. Peebles to Fay School in Massachusetts, where an outbreak of measles was underway; Peebles was able to isolate the virus from blood samples and throat swabs, and was later able to cultivate the virus and show that the disease could be passed on to monkeys inoculated with the material he had collected.{{cite web | vauthors = Martin D | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/health/05peebles.html | title = Dr. Thomas C. Peebles, Who Identified Measles Virus, Dies at 89 | work = The New York Times | date = 4 August 2010 | access-date = 11 February 2017 | archive-date = 6 April 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200406003817/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/health/05peebles.html | url-status = live }} Enders was able to use the cultivated virus to develop a measles vaccine in 1963 by attenuation through cultured chicken embryo fibroblasts of the material isolated by Peebles.{{cite web | title = Work by Enders Brings Measles Vaccine License | url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/917283942.html?dids=917283942:917283942&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Mar+22%2C+1963&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=Work+by+Enders+Brings+Measles+Vaccine+License&pqatl=google | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121103111429/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/917283942.html?dids=917283942%3A917283942&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS%3AAI&type=historic&date=Mar+22%2C+1963&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=Work+by+Enders+Brings+Measles+Vaccine+License&pqatl=google | archive-date = 3 November 2012 | url-status = dead | work = The Hartford Courant | date = 22 March 1963 | quote = A strain of measles virus isolated in 1954 by Dr. Thomas C. Peebles, instructor in pediatrics at Harvard, and Enders, formed the basis for the development of the present vaccine }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Griffin DE |title=Measles Vaccine |journal=Viral Immunol |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=86–95 |date=March 2018 |pmid=29256824 |pmc=5863094 |doi=10.1089/vim.2017.0143 }}

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, nearly twice as many children died from measles as from polio.{{cite web | title = The Measles Vaccine | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1963/03/28/archives/the-measles-vaccine.html | work = The New York Times | date = 28 March 1963 | access-date = 30 April 2019 | archive-date = 30 April 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190430074633/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/03/28/archives/the-measles-vaccine.html | url-status = live }} The vaccine Enders developed was based on the Edmonston strain of attenuated live measles virus, which was named for 11-year-old David Edmonston, the Fay student from whom Peebles had taken the culture that led to the virus's cultivation.{{cite journal | vauthors = Hilleman MR | title = Past, present, and future of measles, mumps, and rubella virus vaccines | journal = Pediatrics | volume = 90 | issue = 1 Pt 2 | pages = 149–53 | date = July 1992 | doi = 10.1542/peds.90.1.149 | pmid = 1603640 | s2cid = 33115842 | url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/90/1/149 | url-access = subscription }}

In the mid-20th century, measles was particularly devastating in West Africa, where child mortality rate was 50 percent before age five, and the children were struck with the type of rash and other symptoms common prior to 1900 in England and other countries.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} The first trial of a live attenuated measles vaccine was undertaken in 1960 by the British paediatrician David Morley in a village near Ilesha, Nigeria;{{Cite web |last=Beautysays |date=27 September 2009 |title=David Morley - a career of service that started in Nigeria |url=https://nigeriahealthwatch.com/david-morley-a-career-of-service-that-started-in-nigeria/ |access-date=29 April 2022 |website=Nigeria Health Watch |language=en-GB |archive-date=29 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629135727/https://nigeriahealthwatch.com/david-morley-a-career-of-service-that-started-in-nigeria/ |url-status=live }} in case he could be accused of exploiting the Nigerian population, Morley included his own four children in the study. The encouraging results led to a second study of about 450 children in the village and at the Wesley Guild Hospital in Ilesha.{{cn|date=June 2022}}

Following another epidemic, a larger trial was undertaken in September and October 1962, in New York City with the assistance of the WHO: 131 children received the live Enders-attenuated Edmonston B strain plus gamma globulin, 130 children received a "further attenuated" vaccine without gamma globulin, and 173 children acted as control subjects for both groups. As also shown in the Nigerian trial, the trial confirmed that the "further attenuated" vaccine was superior to the Edmonston B vaccine, and caused significantly fewer instances of fever and diarrhea. 2,000 children in the area were vaccinated with the further-attenuated vaccine.{{cite journal | vauthors = Morley DC, Woodland M, Krugman S, Friedman H, Grab B | title = Measles and Measles Vaccination in an African Village | journal = Bulletin of the World Health Organization | volume = 30 | pages = 733–9 | date = 1964 | issue = 5 | pmid = 14196817 | pmc = 2554995 }}{{cite news| vauthors = Pritchard J |title=Obituary: Dr C. A. Pearson|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-dr-c-a-pearson-1293756.html|access-date=29 January 2014|newspaper=The Independent|date=13 November 1997|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224220736/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-dr-c-a-pearson-1293756.html|archive-date=24 February 2014}}

Maurice Hilleman at Merck & Co., a pioneer in the development of vaccinations, developed an improved version of the measles vaccine in 1968 and subsequently the MMR vaccine in 1971, which vaccinates against measles, mumps and rubella in a single shot followed by a booster.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48244-2005Apr12.html |title=Maurice R. Hilleman Dies; Created Vaccines (washingtonpost.com) |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=21 July 2009 | vauthors = Sullivan P |date=13 April 2005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020102622/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48244-2005Apr12.html |archive-date=20 October 2012}} One form is called "Attenuvax".{{cite journal | vauthors = Ovsyannikova IG, Johnson KL, Naylor S, Poland GA | title = Identification of HLA-DRB1-bound self-peptides following measles virus infection | journal = Journal of Immunological Methods | volume = 297 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 153–67 | date = February 2005 | pmid = 15777939 | doi = 10.1016/j.jim.2004.12.020 }} The measles component of the MMR vaccine uses Attenuvax, which is grown in a chick embryo cell culture using the Enders' attenuated Edmonston strain.{{cite web | title=M-M-R II- measles, mumps, and rubella virus vaccine live injection, powder, lyophilized, for suspension | website=DailyMed | date=24 September 2019 | url=https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=0a9e384f-e717-436b-b9a0-15e53cef0862 | access-date=29 January 2020 | archive-date=6 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406003823/https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=0a9e384f-e717-436b-b9a0-15e53cef0862 | url-status=live }} Following ACIP recommendations, Merck decided not to resume production of Attenuvax as standalone vaccine on 21 October 2009.{{cite web | title=Q&As about Monovalent M-M-R Vaccines | website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | date=26 October 2009 | url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/clinical-resources/mmr-faq-12-17-08.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019051430/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/clinical-resources/mmr-faq-12-17-08.html | archive-date=19 October 2019 | url-status=live | access-date=18 October 2019}}

A 2022 study in the American Economic Journal found that the measles vaccine uptake led to increases in income of 1.1 percent and positive effects on employment due to greater productivity by those who were vaccinated.{{Cite journal | vauthors = Atwood A |date=2022 |title=The Long-Term Effects of Measles Vaccination on Earnings and Employment |url=https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20190509 |journal=American Economic Journal: Economic Policy |language=en |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=34–60 |doi=10.1257/pol.20190509 |s2cid=248468606 |issn=1945-7731|url-access=subscription }}

File:Priorix.jpg)]]

Measles is seldom given as an individual vaccine and is often given in combination with rubella, mumps, or varicella (chickenpox) vaccines.

Below is the list of measles-containing vaccines:

• Measles vaccine (standalone vaccine)
• Measles and rubella combined vaccine (MR vaccine)
• Mumps, measles and rubella combined vaccine (MMR vaccine){{cite web | title=M-M-RVaxPro EPAR | website=European Medicines Agency (EMA) | date=17 September 2018 | url=https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/m-m-rvaxpro | access-date=29 January 2020 | archive-date=6 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406174101/https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/m-m-rvaxpro | url-status=live }}{{cite web | title=Priorix - Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) | website=(emc) | date=14 January 2020 | url=https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/1159/smpc | access-date=29 January 2020 | archive-date=6 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406003828/https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/1159/smpc | url-status=live }}
• Mumps, measles, rubella and varicella combined vaccine (MMRV vaccine)

Most health insurance plans in the United States cover the cost of vaccines, and Vaccines for Children Program may be able to help those who do not have coverage.{{Cite web|title=VFC {{!}} Home {{!}} Vaccines for Children Program {{!}} CDC|url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/index.html|date=2 April 2019|website=www.cdc.gov|language=en-us|access-date=30 April 2020|archive-date=1 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501175435/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/index.html|url-status=live}} State law requires vaccinations for school children, but offer exemptions for medical reasons and sometimes for religious or philosophical reasons.{{Cite web|title=State Vaccination Requirements {{!}} CDC|url=https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/laws/state-reqs.html|date=11 March 2019|website=www.cdc.gov|language=en-us|access-date=30 April 2020|archive-date=2 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402194736/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/laws/state-reqs.html|url-status=live}} All fifty states require two doses of the MMR vaccine at the appropriate age.{{Cite web|title=MMR Vaccine Mandates for Child Care and K-12|url=https://www.immunize.org/laws/mmr.asp|website=www.immunize.org|access-date=30 April 2020|archive-date=12 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612231754/https://www.immunize.org/laws/mmr.asp|url-status=live}} A different vaccine distribution within a single territory by age or social class may define different general perceptions of vaccination efficacy. {{Cite journal | vauthors = Scirè G |date=2021 |title=Modelling and assessing public health policies to counteract Italian measles outbreaks |url=http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=118832 |journal=International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling |language=en |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=271 |doi=10.1504/IJSPM.2021.118832 |hdl=10447/513505 |issn=1740-2123|hdl-access=free }}

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book | vauthors = ((World Health Organization)) | title = The immunological basis for immunization series : module 7: measles - Update 2009 | publisher = World Health Organization (WHO) | year = 2009 | hdl = 10665/44038 | isbn = 9789241597555 | location = Geneva, Switzerland }}
• {{cite book | title = Immunisation against infectious disease | chapter = Chapter 21: Measles | chapter-url = https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-the-green-book-chapter-21 | publisher = Public Health England | veditors = Ramsay M | url = https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book | year = 2019 | location = London, England | access-date = 22 December 2019 | archive-date = 12 November 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191112005859/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pneumococcal-the-green-book-chapter-25 | url-status = live }}
• {{cite book | publisher = U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | title = Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases | veditors = Hall E, Wodi AP, Hamborsky J, Morelli V, Schillie S | edition = 14th | location = Washington D.C. | year = 2021 | chapter = Chapter 13: Measles | chapter-url = https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/meas.html | url = https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/index.html | access-date = 22 December 2019 | archive-date = 30 December 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161230001534/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/index.html | url-status = live }}
• {{cite book | vauthors = Gastanaduy PA, Redd SB, Clemmons NS, Lee Adria D, Hickman CJ, Rota PA, Patel M | chapter = Chapter 7: Measles | chapter-url = https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/chpt07-measles.html | veditors = Roush SW, Baldy LM, Hall MH | title = Manual for the surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases | publisher = U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | location = Atlanta, Georgia | url = https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/ | year = 2019 | access-date = 22 December 2019 | archive-date = 1 August 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200801192220/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/ | url-status = live }}

{{refend}}

• {{cite web | title = MMR (Measles, Mumps, & Rubella) Vaccine Information Statement | website = U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | date = 22 October 2019 | url = https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/mmr.html }}
• {{cite web | title = MMRV (Measles, Mumps, Rubella & Varicella) Vaccine Information Statement | website = U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | date = 22 October 2019 | url = https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/mmrv.html }}
• {{MeshName|Measles Vaccine}}

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