Expected Results for the MMR Vaccine
More than 95 percent of the people who receive a single dose of MMR vaccine will develop immunity to all three viruses. A second MMR vaccine gives immunity to almost all of those who did not respond to the first dose.
Possible Side Effects of the MMR Vaccine
Most people who get the MMR vaccine develop no side effects; however, a vaccine, like any medicine, can cause side effects. Most MMR side effects are minor, meaning that the symptoms improve on their own, or are easily treated by the healthcare provider. In rare cases, MMR side effects can be more serious. In very rare cases, the vaccine can cause very serious harm or even death.
(Click MMR Vaccine Precautions to learn about groups of people who should wait to receive the MMR vaccine or not receive it at all.)
MMR Vaccine and People Born Before 1957
People born before 1957 are exempt from receiving the MMR vaccine. This is because people born in 1957 and before lived through several years of epidemic measles, before the first measles vaccine was licensed. As a result, these people are very likely to have had the measles disease. Surveys suggest that 95 percent to 98 percent of those born before 1957 are immune to measles. The "1957 rule" applies only to measles and mumps, and does not apply to rubella.
MMR Vaccine During the 1960s
It is possible that the people who received the MMR vaccine in the 1960s need to have their dose repeated. People who have documentation of receiving live measles vaccine in the 1960s do not need to be revaccinated. People who were vaccinated prior to 1968, with either inactivated (killed) measles vaccine, or measles vaccine of unknown type, should be revaccinated with at least one dose of live, attenuated measles vaccine. This recommendation is intended to protect those who may have received killed measles vaccine, which was available in 1963-1967, and was not effective.
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