Rubella vaccination provides the only reliable protection against rubella virus infection. The vaccine consists of two vaccine doses. If possible, these should be administered within the first two years of life. One can and should do a rubella vaccination but also later. It is especially important before pregnancy. An infection can cause serious damage to the unborn child. Read all important information about the rubella vaccine here.
Rubella vaccination: recommendations
The rubella vaccine is recommended by the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) for all children. For girls, it is important to be adequately protected against infection with the rubella virus at a later pregnancy. For a rubella infection during pregnancy can cause severe damage to the child.
For both girls and boys, however, the rubella vaccine has yet another meaning: Who does not suffer from rubella, can not infect pregnant women in the environment.
Rubella vaccination: How often?
Generally for the Rubella vaccination in children two vaccines are provided: the first is recommended for children between the ages of 11 and 14 months (the sooner the better). The second dose should be given at the age of 15 to 23 months. At least four weeks must pass between the two partial vaccinations.
The rubella vaccine is always given in combination with the measles and mumps vaccines (MMR vaccine, mumps-measles-rubella vaccine). A single vaccine against rubella (and against mumps) does not exist anymore.
Those who have received both recommended doses of vaccine are usually adequately protected against the rubella pathogen, for a lifetime. Only rarely does it happen that someone gets infected again with rubella in a long-time vaccination. This so-called reinfection usually runs without or only with very mild symptoms (like colds).
Some children and adolescents have received only one or no rubella vaccine in the first two years of life. With them, the rubella vaccine should be completed or made up as soon as possible.
Rubella vaccine for women
Some women of childbearing potential are not protected against rubella: they have not undergone rubella infection or received a (complete) rubella vaccine. In some women, the vaccination status is also unclear: they do not know if and how often they were vaccinated against rubella as a child.
Such women should be vaccinated against rubella before pregnancy. Those who do not know their own vaccination status and have not been vaccinated as a child should receive two doses of the MMR vaccine. In women of childbearing age, who have received a rubella vaccine dose in childhood, another dose is sufficient. This completes the vaccine protection.
After the last rubella vaccination (or MMR vaccine) at least one month should pass before a woman becomes pregnant.
Rubella vaccine in pregnancy?
The rubella vaccine (or MMR vaccine) is a live vaccine, This consists of attenuated, but still replicable pathogens. Such live vaccines are allowed during pregnancy not administered become. They could harm the unborn child.
This means: If it is determined during pregnancy that the woman is not immune to the rubella pathogen, no rubella vaccine is possible.
In order to know at an early stage, all pregnant women with unclear vaccination status or missing or incomplete rubella vaccination should be screened for specific antibodies (antibodies) to the rubella viruses (Antibody Test). If it turns out that the expectant mother is actually not sufficiently immune to the pathogens, she must be careful in the future, not to come in contact with rubella-infected. If this happens anyway, the doctor can inject ready-to-use rubella antibodies within three days after contact (see below: passive rubella vaccination).
Rubella vaccine for other adults
People who work in the health service or community facilities where they have contact with pregnant women, babies or toddlers should also be protected against rubella. This means that if such employees are not vaccinated against rubella or have unclear vaccination status, they should receive a single dose of the MMR vaccine once.
When should the rubella vaccine not take place?
As mentioned above, the rubella vaccine should not be given during pregnancy. But there are other situations in which the vaccine is not recommended:
- Allergy to chicken egg white
- severe immune deficiency
- after administration of blood transfusions and antibody-containing medicines
- high fever
What happens with the rubella vaccine?
The rubella vaccine contains attenuated, replicable viruses that can not cause disease anymore. He is injected into a muscle (intramuscular, i.m.), usually directly into the upper arm, thigh or butt. In response, the body begins to produce specific antibodies against the viruses.
The rubella vaccine is one active vaccination, The body is thus stimulated by the vaccine to produce its own antibodies against the pathogen. Some of these antibodies remain in the body for a long time. If it later comes to a true rubella infection, they strike immediately alarm. As a result, the immune system immediately starts producing other rubella antibodies. This allows the intruder to be fought quickly and effectively before it can cause illness.
In this way, a complete rubella vaccine (two doses) generally protects you from infection for life. But you can also have the vaccine refreshed at any time.
Rubella vaccination: side effects
After rubella vaccination, in rare cases undesirable reactions of the body may occur. Thus, the skin may redden at the puncture site and swell slightly. Occasionally there are general signs of illness such as tiredness or fever. All of these side effects of the rubella vaccine will stop after a few days.
Passive rubella vaccination
Pregnant women, who have no immune protection against rubella and have (possibly) been infected with the rubella virus, should act quickly and go to the doctor: they can give them a so-called 72 hours after the (suspected) infection post-exposure passive rubella vaccination administer:
Post exposure means “after infection”. Passive means that the rubella vaccine consists of ready-made antibodies to rubella viruses. That’s the difference to the active rubella vaccine that is normally given.
Of the advantage Passive vaccination means that the body immediately has specific defense against the rubella virus – so he does not have to produce it himself.
There is also disadvantage: The passive rubella vaccine is not one hundred percent sure. In addition, the body degrades the administered “foreign” antibodies over time. The vaccine protection by the passive rubella vaccine therefore has only limited. Therefore, the passive vaccine can not replace a “normal” (ie active) rubella vaccine, but is intended only for the acute emergency.
Rubella despite vaccination?
Very rarely, people who have been vaccinated against rubella, later still. The reason is mostly that they have received only one of the two recommended doses of rubella vaccine. However, a single rubella vaccine offers only a vaccination protection of about 95 percent. This means that in about five out of every 100 people, the body does not produce antibodies after a single rubella vaccine dose. Therefore, experts recommend the second vaccine dose: It should ensure that the remaining five percent build a vaccine against rubella.
So it is almost never the case that rubella occurs despite vaccination with the two recommended vaccine doses. If so, the vaccine was probably not given correctly. This is highly unlikely in Germany and experienced doctors. In general, the complete offers Rubella vaccination a safe and lifelong protection against infection.