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A photograph of a white doctor administering a vaccination to a white girl, as white children look on

“Children receiving rubella vaccinations,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ca. 1970

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Afraid of the consequences of rubella, parents eagerly enrolled their children in the vaccination program. Demand for the shot was immense, public health professionals vaccinated almost 40 million children in the United States against rubella in just over four years.

A photograph of a smiling white boy holding a card

Young boy with his “Official Rubella Fighter” card and button, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, November 1970

Courtesy Centers for Disease Control

Afraid of the consequences of rubella, parents eagerly enrolled their children in the vaccination program. When it began in 1969, demand for the shot was immense. Public health professionals vaccinated almost 40 million children in the United States against rubella in just over four years.

An illustration of a white girl with a rash

Detail of “Differential Diagnosis of Rash Illnesses,” Merck Sharp & Dohme, 1983

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Symptoms of rubella, also called roëthln, German measles, or three-day measles, include a cold-like illness with a low fever followed by a rash. However, many people who get rubella will have no symptoms.

A portrait of a white man

Portrait of Sir Norman Gregg, undated

Courtesy Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Museum and Archives

Sir Norman Gregg, MD (1892–1966), an Australian ophthalmologist, identified the link between rubella and birth defects in 1941. Because he worked outside the centers of medical research, some elite physicians were surprised by his findings.

An open book

Textbook of Obstetrics, Designed for the Use of Students and Practitioners, Henricus Johannes Stander and Whitridge J. Williams, New York, 1945

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Sir Norman Gregg, MD (1892–1966), an Australian ophthalmologist, identified the link between rubella and birth defects in 1941. Within a few years of Dr. Gregg’s discovery that rubella causes birth defects, medical textbooks explicitly discussed the risks associated with maternal rubella exposure.

A chart

Communicable Diseases, Quarantine Rules and Regulations, Los Angeles County School District, 1948

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

The Los Angeles City School District’s 1948 communicable diseases policy required that children sick with rubella stay home from school. Although this would prevent the spread of rubella to other students, it did little to protect mothers from rubella exposure.

A photograph of two white men in lab coats

Drs. Harry M. Meyer, Jr. (left) and Paul Parkman (right) develop the rubella vaccine, Bethesda, Maryland, 1967

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Two researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Drs. Harry M. Meyer, Jr. (1928–2001) and Paul Parkman (b. 1932), developed a vaccine and a better blood test to screen people for rubella. With these tools, public health officials could protect American families from the next rubella epidemic.

A book cover

Transcript of the National Institutes of Health, Division of Biologics Standards Conference on Rubella, Bethesda, MD, April 30, 1964

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Scientists gathered at the NIH to share their rubella research at an April 1964 conference. Participants discussed how quickly rubella spread, the best animal to use for testing possible vaccines, and more.

A page of text

“Investigations Concerning Rubella Virus and Vaccine,” Individual Project Report, Bethesda, MD: Laboratory of Viral Immunology, Section on General Virology, Division of Biologics Standards, National Institutes of Health, 1968

Courtesy NIH Library

In addition to their work preparing the rubella virus for use in a vaccine, the research team at the NIH investigated the practicality of producing the rubella vaccine in chicken or duck embryo cells.

A photograph of a two white male doctors and a white female nurse drawing blood from two white girls

Dr. Meyer drawing blood from a child and Dr. Parkman examining a child’s ear as part of the rubella vaccine trial at the Children’s Colony of Arkansas, Conway, Arkansas, 1966

Courtesy University of Central Arkansas Archives

Patients at the Children’s Colony in Arkansas, a residential home for children with disabilities, tested the rubella vaccine. The parents of these children consented to the testing in an effort to prevent congenital birth defects in the future.

A cover of Jet magazine with a portrait of an African American woman

“Can Mothers Influence Unborn Children?” Jet, July 8, 1954

Courtesy EBONY Media Operations, LLC. All rights reserved.

Women reading Jet, Ebony, Life  and other popular magazines in the 1950s and 1960s learned that rubella might affect the fetal development of the eyes, heart, or brain.

A cover of Ebony magazine with a photograph of a sitting white man and a standing black man

“The Struggle to Mend Children’s Minds: Retardation is Under Attack Across Nation,” Ebony, September 1964

Courtesy EBONY Media Operations, LLC. All rights reserved.

Women reading Jet, Ebony, Life and other popular magazines in the 1950s and 1960s learned that rubella might affect the fetal development of the eyes, heart, or brain.

An open book

Abortion in the United States, Mary Steichen Calderone, New York, 1958

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Research into abortion in the United States found that women sought out therapeutic abortion after a maternal rubella diagnosis even in years when the disease was not epidemic. Therapeutic, or medically indicated, abortions were legal and performed in hospitals but restricted.

A magazine spread showing two white women in hospital beds with text above

“German Measles and Pregnancy,” Bob Liang, Life, June 4, 1965

From the pages of LIFE, © 1965 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from LIFE and published with permission of Time, Inc. LIFE and LIFE logo are registered trademarks of Time Inc. Photograph courtesy of Co Rentmeester.

Life, a popular magazine, discussed a woman’s decision to have an abortion after a rubella diagnosis as a responsible, if difficult, choice that a family might make.

A cover of Life magazine with a photograph of a white woman getting blood drawn

“German Measles and Pregnancy,” Bob Liang, Life, June 4, 1965

From the pages of LIFE, © 1965 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted from LIFE and published with permission of Time, Inc. LIFE. LIFE logo are registered trademarks of Time Inc. Photograph courtesy of Co Rentmeester.

Life, a popular magazine, discussed a woman’s decision to have an abortion after a rubella diagnosis as a responsible, if difficult, choice that a family might make.

A book cover

“Rubella and Deaf Children in California,” Donald R. Calvert for the San Francisco Hearing and Speech Center, San Francisco, California, 1967

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Children with CRS often required extensive support from a team of caregivers. In this 1967 report, medical professionals at the San Francisco Hearing and Speech Center planned for an influx of children with hearing loss associated with rubella.

A book cover

If Your Child Has a Congenital Heart Defect, American Heart Association, New York, 1967

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Children with CRS often required extensive support from a team of caregivers. The American Heart Association issued this pamphlet for the parents of children born with heart defects. It helped parents navigate a complex medical system and understand recommended medical procedures.

A photograph of a stately building

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Second Judicial Department, undated

Courtesy of the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department

The New York Court of Appeals ruled on an early “wrongful birth” case. Parents denied access to therapeutic abortions after a maternal rubella diagnosis sometimes turned to the court system to demand financial support for their children from physicians and hospitals. These early “wrongful birth” cases carved out a new area of law.

A photograph of white woman holding a white girl

Portrait of Dortha Jacobs Biggs holding her daughter, Lesli, ca. 1975

Courtesy Dortha Jacobs Biggs

Dortha Jacobs Biggs, shown here holding her daughter born with severe CRS, won her wrongful birth case in Texas in 1975. Parents who pursued wrongful birth cases claimed that they were prevented from making informed decisions about their pregnancies and denied access to therapeutic abortion. They demanded financial support from their doctor and hospital for the care of their child with CRS. A judge awarded Biggs $120,000 to be used for her daughter’s medical care.

A photograph of a vial of clear liquid and a box of vaccine

Meruvax, manufactured by Merck Sharp & Dohme, ca. 1970

Courtesy Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History

Meruvax, the first commercially viable rubella vaccine, went into use in June 1969. It was based on the work of Drs. Paul Parkman (b. 1932) and Harry M. Meyer, Jr. (1928–2001) at the NIH.

A photograph of people standing outside a building

“Vaccination for German Measles,” Merck & Co. Inc, Danbury, Connecticut, 1969

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Afraid of the consequences of rubella, parents eagerly enrolled their children in the vaccination program. When it became available in June 1969, demand for the shot was immense. Public health professionals vaccinated almost 40 million children in the United States against rubella in just over four years.

Illustration that looks similar an arrow pointing to a fetus in a womb with text above

Rubella, Jane Lin-Fu, US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, DC, 1970

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Promotional materials for the rubella education and screening campaign, like this pamphlet, focused on the risk to “tomorrow’s” children.

Poster of illustrated boys and girls of various races with text below

“Today’s Little People Protect Tomorrow’s Little People” Rubella vaccination day, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, May 17, 1970

Courtesy Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History

Promotional materials for the rubella education and screening campaign, like this poster, focused on the risk to “tomorrow’s” children.

An illustration of a woman’s face and a stork beside text

Advertisement from the Oregon State Department of Public Health and March of Dimes, undated

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Promotional materials for the rubella education and screening campaign, like this poster, focused on the risk to “tomorrow’s” children.

An African American woman and baby in a living room

“Immunizing your child should be your first step, before he takes his,” an advertisement for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in Ebony, December 1976

Courtesy of MetLife Archives

This December 1976 advertisement in Ebony  reminded parents that rubella and other diseases remained a threat despite the success of new vaccines. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company urged parents not to become complacent in their vaccinations.

Cover of a book

“It’s a cheap shot, MMR,” Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, undated

Courtesy U.S. National Library of Medicine

Merck, the pharmaceutical company that released the first rubella vaccine in 1969, combined the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines into a single shot in 1971. The MMR vaccine remains one of the recommended childhood vaccines in the United States.

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