Why Vaccines Come Combined: The MMR Advantage
Q: How is an MMR vaccine different from a BLT sandwich?
A: You can order a bacon and lettuce sandwich and leave off the tomato. Or leave off the bacon. Or just eat lettuce! But in the United States, you cannot get a separate measles vaccine, a separate mumps vaccine, and a separate rubella vaccine. Protection against measles, mumps, and rubella have been delivered in one shot since 1971. It turns out, there are a lot of good reasons for this!
Since the measles, mumps, and rubella doses are all due at the same time, combining them just makes sense. It cuts the number of injections down from six to three. That means:
- Fewer appointments
- Fewer needles
- Fewer sore arms
- Fewer tantrums!
It also means kids are less likely to miss a dose and be left vulnerable to infection. Measles, mumps, and rubella are serious business. Apart from high fevers, rashes, and swollen glands, these diseases can cause terrible complications including hearing loss, dehydration, heart problems, encephalitis, and even death.
If you look at your child’s shot record, you’ll see a lot of combined vaccines. For kids, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis are always given together. And some vaccines include DTaP along with polio, hepatitis B, or Haemophilus influenzae type B protection.
This reduces the number of products your doctor’s office has to carry, reducing the cost to patients and making it easier to track lot numbers and expiration dates. If vaccines expire, they will be thrown away. Wasting any medicine is expensive and practices may make up for the extra cost by charging higher fees or cutting other services.
Need Help Accessing Childhood Vaccines?
Keeping up with recommended immunization schedules shouldn't be out of reach for any family. If you are concerned about out-of-pocket medical costs, the Broome County Health Department Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program provides required childhood vaccines at no cost for eligible children whose parents or caregivers may not be able to afford them.
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