Avoidance of Rubella Immunization of Women During or Shortly Before Pregnancy

Rubella-susceptible women in the childbearing age will need and will request rubella vaccine for direct protection until the spread of rubella is controlled by the immunization of children. Immunization of women should be performed on an individual basis, and appropriate measures should be taken to avoid administration of vaccine shortly before or during pregnancy. This case series of 17 women in California who inadvertently received rubella vaccine shortly before or during pregnancy from April 1969 through February 1970 points to the need for both physicians and patients to be more acutely aware of this problem.