Risk of pregnancy among adolescent schoolgirls participating in a measles mass immunization program.

Abstract

A large measles vaccination program in the Albuquerque, New Mexico public schools in 1981, conducted according to USA Public Health Service guidelines, was studied to determine rates of pregnancy among adolescent vaccinees. Pre-vaccination counseling of 1922 clinic attendees prevented 7 pregnant girls from being vaccinated. Despite counseling, of 1913 female vaccinees age 13-18 yr old, 2 were pregnant at the time of vaccination (1.05 pregnancies/1000 vaccinees) and an additional 4 girls became pregnant in the 3 mo. after vaccination (2.1 pregnancies/1000 vaccinees). Data supporting low or absent fetal risks from measles and rubella vaccines, combined with the low pregnancy rate among vaccinees documented in this study, support the reasonableness of the recommended strategy for measles and rubella vaccination of secondary schoolgirls.