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Measles cases are rising worldwide. Do children have to be vaccinated earlier in Australia?
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Measles cases are rising worldwide. Do children have to be vaccinated earlier in Australia?

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Measles has risen worldwide in recent years. There were an estimated 10.3 million cases worldwide in 2023, an increase of 20 percent compared to 2022.
Outbreaks are reported all over the world, also in the United States, Europe and the Western Pacific Ocean region (including Australia). Vietnam, for example, reportedly saw thousands of cases in 2024 and 2025.
In Australia, 77 measles cases have been registered in the first five months of 2025, compared to 57 cases in the whole of 2024.

Measleslas in Australia are almost all related to international journeys. They occur with travelers who return from abroad, or are damaged locally after mixing with an infected traveler or their contacts.

Source: The conversation / WHO

Measles usually affect children and can be prevented with vaccination, given in Australia in two doses of 12 and 18 months old. But is there a reason for revising the timing of measles vaccinations in the light of the current outbreaks worldwide?

Some basics with measles

Measles are caused by a virus that belongs to the genus Morbillivirus. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose and a rash. Although in most cases it presents a mild disease, measles can lead to serious diseases that require hospitalization and even death. Large outbreaks can overwhelm health systems.

Measles can have serious health consequences, such as in the brain and the immune system, years after infection.

Measles spread from person to person through small breathing drops that can linger in the air for two hours. It is very contagious – one person with measles can spread the infection to 12–18 people who are not immune.
Because measles are so contagious, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends coverage of two dose of vaccination above 95 percent to stop distribution and achieve “herd-immunity”.

Low and falling vaccine cover, especially because the COVID pandemie stimulates worldwide outbreaks.

When are children vaccinated against measles?

Newborn babies are generally protected against measles thanks to maternal antibodies. Maternal antibodies are passed on from the mother to the baby via the placenta and in breast milk and offer protection against infections including measles.
The WHO recommends that everyone must receive two doses of measles vaccination. In places where many measles are circulating, children are generally recommended to have the first dose of about nine months old. This is because it is expected that maternal antibodies would have fallen considerably at that age, making them vulnerable to infection.
If antibodies of the mother measles are still present, the vaccine is less likely to produce an immune response.

Research has also shown that a measles vaccine at the age of less than 8.5 months can lead to an antibody response that decreases faster. This may be due to interference with maternal antibodies, but researchers are still trying to understand the reasons for this.

A second dose of the vaccine is usually given 6-9 months later. A second dose is important because about 10-15 percent of the children do not develop antibodies after the first vaccine.
In institutions where measles transfer is under better control, a first dose is recommended at the age of 12 months. Vaccination after 12 months compared to nine months is considered a stronger, long -term immune response.
In Australia, children routinely receive the measles-mumps-rubella (mmr) vaccin after 12 months and the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (mmrv, with “varicella” are chickenpox) vaccine after 18 months.

Babies with a higher risk of catching the disease can also get an extra early dose. In Australia this is recommended for infants as young as six months when there is an outbreak or if they travel abroad to a risky environment.

A new study looking at measles bodies in babies

A recent assessment looked at measles antibody data from babies younger than nine months old who live in countries with a low and average income. The assessment combined the results of 20 studies, including more than 8,000 babies.
The researchers discovered that although 81 percent of newborns had maternal antibodies against measles, only 30 percent of four -month babies had maternal antibodies.

This study suggests that antibodies from the mother to measles fall much earlier than before. It raises the question whether the first dose of measles vaccine is given too late to maximize the protection of babies, especially if there are many measles in the area.

Do we have to put forward the measles vaccine in Australia?

All data in this study comes from countries with a low and average income and may not reflect the situation in Australia, where we have much higher vaccine cover for measles, and very few cases.
The coverage of Australia for two doses of the MMR vaccine at the age of two is older than 92 percent.

Although this is lower than the optimum 95 percent, the total risk of measles that rise in Australia is relatively low.

Measles outbreak-texas

In Australia, children get the MMR vaccine routinely after 12 months and the MMRV vaccine after 18 months. Source: AP / Mary Conlon

Nevertheless, there may be a case for broadening the age at which an early extra dose of the measles vaccine can be given to children with a higher risk. In Nieuw -Zeeland, babies can receive a measles vaccine as young as four months before they travel to an endemic country.

But the current routine immunization schedule in Australia will probably not change.

Adding an extra dose to the schedule would be difficult and logistics difficult. Lowering the age for the first dose can have some benefits in certain settings and does not provide any worries about safety, but further evidence would be needed to support this change. In particular, research is needed to ensure that this would not have a negative influence on the longer -term protection that vaccination against measles.

Make sure you are protected

In the meantime, ensuring high levels of measles vaccine cover with two doses is a global priority.
People born after 1966 are recommended to have two doses of measles vaccine. This is because those who were born before the mid -1960s probably caught measles as children (when the vaccine was not yet available) and therefore had natural immunity.
If you are unsure of your vaccination status, you can check this via the Australian immunization register. If you don’t have a documented record, ask your doctor for advice.
Collection vaccination is available under the national immunization program.
Meru Sheel is an associate professor at Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney. She receives financing from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Anita Heywood is an associate professor at the School of Population Health at Unsw Sydney.
The conversation

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