Te rongoā āraimate mō te mate karawaka, te mate pupuhi repe me te karawaka tiamana (MMR) Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine

The MMR vaccine protects against 3 viral infections — measles, mumps and rubella.

Measles

Measles is one of the most dangerous and contagious diseases. If you are not vaccinated and come into contact with someone who has it, you are very likely to catch it and pass it on to others.

Measles can cause a rash, flu-like symptoms, or more serious problems like brain swelling, chest infections, or death.

If you are pregnant, measles can make you very sick and can harm your baby.

Find out more about the symptoms, spread and treatment.

Measles

Mumps

Mumps is an infectious illness caused by a virus. It leads to painful swelling in the salivary glands around the face.

In rare cases, there can be serious complications such as hearing loss, an infection of the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord (meningitis, or inflammation of the brain (encephalitis).

Aotearoa New Zealand had an outbreak of mumps in 2017. This only settled and finally disappeared with the first COVID-19 lockdown because the disease was not able to spread easily.

Find out more about the symptoms, spread and treatment.

Mumps

Rubella

For children, rubella is usually a mild viral illness that causes a spotty rash. If you catch it when you are pregnant, however, it can cause serious birth defects in your baby such as deafness, heart defects, and brain damage.

Find out more about the symptoms, spread and treatment.

Rubella

It is easy and free to get immunised against measles, mumps, and rubella.

For ages 13 and over

The vaccine we use in New Zealand is Priorix. This vaccine which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella. 2 doses, at least a month apart, are needed for best protection.

It is not possible to separate these diseases out. For example, there is no ‘measles only’ vaccine available in New Zealand.

Priorix is a live vaccine. Live vaccines contain bacteria or viruses that have been weakened so that they cannot cause disease. This small amount of virus or bacteria stimulates an immune response.

The Priorix vaccine does not contain porcine (pork) products.

Priorix information – Medsafe (PDF 276KB) (external link)↗

Like most medicines, vaccines can sometimes cause reactions. These are usually mild, and not everyone will get them.

Mild reactions are normal and shows that your immune system is responding to the vaccine.

If you are going to have any reactions, they normally happen in the first few days after getting vaccinated. The vaccine itself is gone from your body within a few hours or days.

The most common reaction to an immunisation includes:

• a slight fever
• pain or swelling where the needle went in.

Other reactions

Other common reactions of the MMR vaccine include:

• mild rash — between 6 and 12 days after immunisation
• high fever — over 39°C between 6 and 12 days after immunisation
• swollen glands in the cheeks, neck, or under the jaw
• temporary joint pain — 2 to 4 weeks after immunisation.

A very rare side effect is bruise-like spots that appear 15 days to 6 weeks after immunisation. This is mild, and usually goes away within 6 months.

Allergic reactions

Serious allergic reactions are extremely rare. Only about 1 in 1 million people will experience this.

Your vaccinator is well-trained and knows what to look for and can treat an allergic reaction quickly if it happens.

Serious allergic reactions normally happen within the first few minutes of vaccination, this is why you need to wait for up to 20 minutes after immunisation.

More information

Find more information about common side effects, what to look for and how to report side effects.

Vaccine side effects, reactions and safety