Measles virus vaccine Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Mar 1, 2024.

Applies to measles virus vaccine: subcutaneous powder for injection.

You should not receive a booster vaccine if you had a life-threatening allergic reaction after the first shot.

Keep track of any and all side effects you have after receiving this vaccine. When you receive a booster dose, you will need to tell the doctor if the previous shots caused any side effects.

Becoming infected with measles is much more dangerous to your health than receiving the vaccine to protect against these diseases. Like any medicine, this vaccine can cause side effects, but the risk of serious side effects is extremely low.

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction while taking measles virus vaccine: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• high fever;

• easy bruising or bleeding, unusual weakness;

• severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash;

• seizure (convulsions);

• weakness, numbness or tingly feeling in your feet and spreading upward;

• problems with hearing or vision;

• problems with eye movement, speech, swallowing, or bladder and bowel functions;

• severe lower back pain; or

• slow heart rate, trouble breathing, feeling like you might pass out.

Less serious side effects include:

• redness, burning, stinging, swelling, blistering, or hives where the shot was given;

• headache, dizziness;

• feeling irritable;

• fussiness, excessive crying;

• low fever, cough, runny nose;

• joint or muscle pain; or

• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

For Healthcare Professionals

Applies to measles virus vaccine: subcutaneous powder for injection.

Local

Local side effects have included injection site burning/stinging, wheal and flare, erythema, swelling, and vesiculation.^[Ref]

Hypersensitivity

Hypersensitivity reactions have included anaphylaxis, anaphylactoid reactions, angioneurotic edema (including peripheral or facial edema), and bronchial spasm.^[Ref]

Cardiovascular

Cardiovascular side effects have included vasculitis.^[Ref]

Dermatologic

Dermatologic side effects have included Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, erythema multiforme, urticaria, and rash.^[Ref]

Gastrointestinal

Gastrointestinal side effects have included diarrhea.^[Ref]

Hematologic

Hematologic side effects have included thrombocytopenia, purpura, regional lymphadenopathy, and leukocytosis.^[Ref]

Musculoskeletal

Musculoskeletal side effects have included arthralgia and/or arthritis (usually transient and rarely chronic), polyneuritis, myalgia, paresthesia, and rarely chronic arthritis; these symptoms may also occur with natural rubella.^[Ref]

Nervous system

Nervous system side effects have included measles inclusion body encephalitis (MIBE), encephalopathy, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), febrile convulsions, afebrile convulsions or seizures, ataxia, and ocular palsies.^[Ref]

Significant central nervous system reactions such as encephalitis and encephalopathy have been very rarely temporally associated with measles vaccine (occurring within 30 days after vaccination); however, causality has not been determined in any case. A certain number of encephalitis cases unrelated to vaccines is expected to occur in a large childhood population; however, there is the possibility that some of these cases may have been caused by measles vaccine. The risk of measles vaccine-associated serious neurological disorders is much smaller than the risk for encephalitis and encephalopathy due to natural measles.

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) has been very rarely reported in children after measles vaccination. Some of these cases may have been due to unrecognized measles during the first year of life or possibly due to the measles vaccination. The results of a retrospective case-controlled study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that measles vaccine has had the overall effect of protecting against SSPE by preventing measles with its greater risk of SSPE.^[Ref]

Ocular

Ocular side effects have included retinitis, optic neuritis, papillitis, retrobulbar neuritis, and conjunctivitis.^[Ref]

Other

Otic side effects have included nerve deafness and otitis media.^[Ref]

Respiratory

Respiratory side effects have included pneumonitis, cough, and rhinitis.^[Ref]

Other

Other side effects have included panniculitis, atypical measles, fever, syncope, headache, dizziness, malaise, and irritability. Fatalities have been reported with the polyvalent measles/mumps/rubella vaccine; however, causality has not been determined.

Health care providers should report any allergic or unusual adverse reactions to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) at 1-800-822-7967 (USA) and the manufacturer.^[Ref]

A postmarketing surveillance study of measles/mumps/rubella vaccine in Finland during 1982 to 1993 with 1.5 million pediatric and adult vaccinees reported no deaths or permanent sequelae.^[Ref]

Further information

Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

Some side effects may not be reported. You may report them to the FDA.

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