No Reaction to MMR

Most children who have the MMR vaccine do not have any problems with it, or if reactions do occur they are usually mild. The risk of the MMR vaccine causing serious harm, or death, is extremely small. (See 'Resources & Information' section.) For other reactions to MMR see 'Mild or moderate reactions to MMR' and 'Severe or disputed reactions to MMR').

The majority of parents we interviewed said that their child had no reaction at all after either dose of the MMR vaccines. They stressed that they had been very worried beforehand, but their child had been exactly the same after the immunisation as they were before it. One mother, who had given her daughter the single measles vaccine and was planning to give mumps and rubella single vaccines, said her daughter had had no reaction to it.

Having been very worried while making their decision, her son's MMR vaccine had been a bit of a non-event.

Her son who had an egg allergy had no reaction to his MMR vaccine.

Her daughter didn't have any reaction after her MMR vaccine.

Her son had no reaction to the MMR vaccine.

A few mothers who had worried that their child's medical problems could be a contraindication to giving MMR, but had followed their doctor's advice and given their child the vaccine, were then relieved to find that indeed it did not cause any reaction.

Her daughter's health problems improved after she had MMR.

The MMR vaccine had no effect on her daughter who had eczema.

All the parents who said their child had little or no reaction to the MMR vaccine also said their child was now healthy and developing normally.

“He's perfectly normal, loud, boisterous, perfectly normal. Completely no effect. But you know, we kept looking and looking and looking but he was completely normal.” [Interview 31, Mother of a 2 and a half year-old-boy] 

“She's her normal self really. Playing, always wants to play, laughing. Tries to say different words and copy you, what you do. It's like she always wants to play, she wants to hold you and take you somewhere and you know she's just herself. And she's always been like that, always laughing and jolly.” [Interview 36, Mother of a 17-month-old girl]

Describes her five-year-old daughter as happy and healthy and not affected at all by her MMR vaccine.

One parent who said that their child had not had a reaction after the MMR vaccine, developed autism four months afterwards, which his parents did not believe was linked to the MMR vaccine.

He thought that the research suggesting a link between MMR and autism was not convincing enough to make him believe that his son's autism could have been caused by the MMR vaccine.

Last reviewed June 2011.