A client who is 5 months pregnant was exposed to rubella and asks whether she can be immunized now. How should the nurse respond?

A client who is 5 months pregnant was exposed to rubella and asks whether she can be immunized now. How should the nurse respond?

• A. No because the live viral vaccine is contraindicated during pregnancy.
• B. Yes, you can receive the vaccine now.
• C. Only if your primary care provider approves.
• D. We can give an inactivated vaccine instead.

Answer: (A)

Live vaccines are avoided in pregnancy because they contain a weakened form of the virus that could potentially affect the fetus. The rubella vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine (part of the MMR combination), so it should not be given during pregnancy. There isn’t an inactivated rubella vaccine available, so there’s nothing to substitute during pregnancy. If a patient is non-immune, vaccination should occur after delivery, and she should avoid pregnancy for about a month after vaccination. There’s no effective post-exposure prophylaxis for rubella during pregnancy, so the best approach is to defer vaccination until after birth.

Live vaccines are avoided in pregnancy because they contain a weakened form of the virus that could potentially affect the fetus. The rubella vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine (part of the MMR combination), so it should not be given during pregnancy. There isn’t an inactivated rubella vaccine available, so there’s nothing to substitute during pregnancy. If a patient is non-immune, vaccination should occur after delivery, and she should avoid pregnancy for about a month after vaccination. There’s no effective post-exposure prophylaxis for rubella during pregnancy, so the best approach is to defer vaccination until after birth.