Rubella: The "R" in MMR No One Mentions (But Grammy B Remembers)

by Billie Kelpin (Grammy B) and ChatGPT

Oh my Dear Hearts,

How could you be expected to know? Unless you’re at least 61 to 100 plus years on this planet, or know someone that age that told you, you wouldn’t know. Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper, and Dana Bash are all in their 50s. And Jesse Watters “on the other side of the dial” as they used to say, is only 46. Robert Kennedy, Jr., however, is in his 70s, so you’d think he would know.

But I knew.

My fellow trainees in Deaf Education knew.

Mothers who caught the Rubella strain of the measles in 1964 through 1968 knew.

Teachers of children who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind, or intellectually delayed because of Congenital Rubella Syndrome knew.

The children themselves, when told of the causes of their differences, knew.

And of course, my favorite AI assistant, Chat GPT, whom I call “Chip,” knows.

I have to admit, after my first article on the MMR vaccine controversy, I had the faint hope that maybe by this time, a post or tweet might drift over to Jake or Anderson or Dana. Maybe even slide "across the dial" to Laura Ingraham or Jesse Watters. But no. Not a word.

"Ah-ha," I said out loud. Maybe they don’t mention it because they assume all young women of childbearing age were vaccinated as children. So no worries, right?

But that’s a dangerous assumption.

So, I asked Chip, my ever-patient, ever-logical AI assistant, what percent of young women in the U.S. might be unvaccinated for rubella? I've kept the personal tone in which I asked the questions because AI's answers echo my questions and I didn't want to alter that. Also, I wanted to show you, dear Reader, how telling AI exactly your intention gets to a more personal and precise response.

Now, dear readers, you’ll be pleased to know that Chip didn’t just give me a number and call it a day. No, "Chip" explained the nuance — how difficult it is to track precise percentages, why even a low number can still matter, and what it all means for women in their childbearing years.

Here’s what faithful Chip had to say when I asked what that low percentage actually meant in terms of the vaccine we know as MMR (the "r" for rubella).

Grammy B asked:

What number range of this population would be considered "low"?

ChatGPT replied:

To estimate what “low” means numerically for the percentage of women of childbearing age who are not vaccinated for rubella, let’s break it down:

1. Define “childbearing age”

Most sources define this as ages 15–44.

2. Population of women 15–44 in the U.S.

According to recent U.S. Census estimates:

• There are approximately 62 million women in the U.S.

• About 60% are aged 15–44 → around 37 million women.

3. Apply estimated unvaccinated percentages

If "low" means less than 10%, as suggested by healthcare worker studies:

Estimated % unvaccinated	Estimated number of women (15–44)
10%	3.7 million
5%	1.85 million
2%	740,000
1%	370,000

🟩 Summary:

A "low" percentage likely means 1–5%, or roughly 370,000 to 1.85 million women in the U.S. not vaccinated against rubella. Even at these low levels, public health experts remain vigilant because congenital rubella syndrome can have serious outcomes.

Grammy B Asks if Her Argument is Sound:

I'm trying to prove my case that not being immunized, especially for Rubella, means that we could possibly have another epidemic of women in childbearing years be affected in the first trimester, resulting in an increase in deaf, deaf-blind, and cognitively affected children. Already, the increase in measles cases is taking place in Texas this month, 4/25, and it seems as if it will continue. Hence, if Robert Kennedy, Jr. continues with his campaign to discourage people from getting this vaccine for the children now, it will eventually cause an increase in the possibility of Congenital Rubella Syndrome. Is this argument sound or not worth the time I spend on my blog post?

ChatGPT said:

Billie, your argument is absolutely sound—and it's not only worth your time, but it could be a critically important public health message, especially because it connects real-world consequences (like congenital rubella syndrome) to current trends (increasing measles cases, anti-vaccine rhetoric, and falling immunization rates).

Here’s a quick breakdown to help you sharpen your blog post:

✅ Why Your Argument Holds Water

1. Rubella is not benign during pregnancy

• If contracted during the first trimester, rubella can cause Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS).

  
  

  

  Not a deficit, but a difference

  
  

• CRS often leads to:

  • Deafness

  • Blindness

  • Congenital heart defects

  • Intellectual disabilities

  • 
    

2. Rubella is part of the MMR vaccine

• If MMR vaccination rates drop, rubella will return. It’s highly contagious.

• Unlike measles, rubella’s danger is specifically for pregnant women—making your focus very pointed and unique.

• 
  

3. Measles outbreaks are a canary in the coal mine

• As you mentioned, Texas is already seeing increased measles cases.

• Rubella and measles are both vaccine-preventable and often spread under similar conditions (low immunization coverage).

• 
  

4. Robert Kennedy Jr.’s rhetoric is directly relevant

• He has promoted disinformation about vaccines.

• If a new generation of parents avoids MMR for their kids, we risk undoing decades of rubella elimination in the U.S. (CDC declared rubella eliminated in 2004—but that doesn’t mean it's gone globally).

• With international travel, rubella can re-enter the U.S. population.

  
  

A "low" percentage likely means 1–5%, or roughly 370,000 to 1.85 million women in the U.S. are not vaccinated against rubella. Even at these low levels, public health experts remain vigilant because Congenital Rubella Syndrome can have serious outcomes.

So, dear hearts, there you have it—just a few facts to consider.

As a former teacher of the deaf and sign language interpreter, I’ve had the privilege of being a small part of one of the richest cultures I’ve ever known: the Deaf Community, where deafness is seen not as a deficit, but simply a difference. Still, the journey for parents of a deaf child, while often deep and meaningful, is not always easy. And I can’t even begin to imagine the path for those raising children who are deaf and blind, or who have additional cognitive challenges.

But if misinformation about the MMR vaccine continues to spread, the threat of another epidemic becomes all too real. That means children who are not immunized today may grow into their childbearing years with the added worry of contracting measles during the first trimester of pregnancy. I was fortunate—I didn’t have to carry that fear when I was pregnant with my own lovely daughter, thanks to the development of the MMR vaccine. It was one less worry I had to face. The MMR vaccine gave me one less thing to worry about—why would we take that comfort away from the next generation of mothers? To COMMENT, scroll down to the bottom of the page. Read the companion piece on the MMR vaccine and deafness here.