Babies Less Likely to Receive Measles Vaccine If Parents Delay Early Shots: Study

The research was published after measles cases in the United States eclipsed 2,000 in 2025.

A health care worker prepares a measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine in Lubbock, Texas, on March 1, 2025. Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images

Parents who delay their babies’ first vaccines are more likely not to have their children vaccinated against measles within two years, according to a new study.

Babies who did not receive early vaccines when recommended were more likely to not have received a dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine by age 2, researchers with Truveta Inc. said in the paper, published on Jan. 2 by the Journal of the American Medical Association.