Can the live virus in the vaccine cause measles,
mumps, and/or rubella?
Because the measles, mumps, and rubella viruses
in the MMR vaccine are weak versions of the disease
viruses, they may cause a very mild case of the dis-
ease they were designed to prevent; however, it is
usually much milder than the natural disease and is
referred to as an adverse reaction to the vaccine.
What if a pregnant woman inadvertently got the
MMR vaccine?
Women are advised not to receive any live virus vac-
cine during pregnancy as a safety precaution based
on the theoretical possibility of a live vaccine causing
disease (e.g., rubella virus leading to congenital
rubella syndrome [CRS]).
Because a number of women have inadvertently
received this vaccine while pregnant or soon before
conception, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has collected data about the outcomes of
their births. From 1971–1989, no evidence of CRS
occurred in the 324 infants born to 321 women who
received rubella vaccine while pregnant and continued
pregnancy to term. As any risk to the fetus from
rubella vaccine appears to be extremely low or zero,
individual counseling of women in this situation
is recommended, rather than routine termination of
pregnancy.
Immunization Action Coalition
•
Saint Paul, Minnesota
•
651-647-9009
•
www.immunize.org
•
www.vaccineinformation.org
www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4211.pdf
•
Item #P4211 (11/18)
