Immunisation: MMR (5 years)
Indicator
The percentage of children who reached 5 years old in the preceding 12 months, who have received 1 dose of MMR between the ages of 1 and 5 years.
Indicator type
General practice indicator suitable for use in the Quality and Outcomes Framework.
This document does not represent formal NICE guidance. For a full list of NICE indicators, see our menu of indicators.
To find out how to use indicators and how we develop them, see our NICE indicator process guide.
Rationale
MMR is the combined vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella. These are highly infectious conditions that can have serious complications. The first MMR vaccine (MMR1) for children is due within a month of their first birthday as part of the routine vaccination schedule for England (see the UK Health Security Agency Complete routine immunisation schedule 2024).
The indicator supports vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella. Measurement by 5 years old aims to encourage vaccination in those children who may have missed the first dose of MMR due around their first birthday, to give protection against these infectious diseases before they start school.
Source guidance
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Vaccine uptake in the general population. NICE guideline NG218 (2022), recommendations 1.2.3, 1.2.9, 1.2.21, 1.3.7, 1.3.8 and 1.3.14 to 1.3.16
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Immunizations – childhood. NICE clinical knowledge summary (updated 2024)
Specification
Numerator: The number in the denominator who have received one dose of MMR between 1 and 5 years old.
Denominator: The number of children who reached 5 years old in the preceding 12 months.
Calculation: Numerator divided by the denominator, multiplied by 100.
Exclusions:
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Children with a confirmed anaphylactic reaction to a previous dose of the vaccines or any component of the vaccine.
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Children who are immunocompromised.
Personalised care adjustments or exception reporting should be considered to account for situations where the patient declines, does not attend or if receiving a dose of the MMR vaccination is not appropriate.
Expected population size: Quality and Outcomes Framework data for 2022 to 2023 (indicator VI003) shows that 1.1% of people in England have reached 5 years old in the preceding 12 months: 107 patients for an average practice with 10,000 patients. To be suitable for use in QOF, there should be more than 20 patients eligible for inclusion in the denominator, per average practice with 10,000 patients, prior to application of personalised care adjustments.