Table 1. Safety of Administration of Live Vaccines to
Contacts of Immunocompromised Persons
Live Vaccine
Shedding of
Agent? (Site)
Transmissibility
From Vaccinated
Immunocompetent
Person?
Recommendation
for Administering
Vaccines (When
Indicated) to Healthy
Immunocompetent
Contacts of
Immunocompromised
Patients
Influenza, live,
attenuated nasal
Yes (nasal secretions) Rare (from 1
vaccinated toddler)
Administer (SR-L);
vaccinated persons to
avoid close contact with
persons with HSCT or
SCID for 7 d (WR-VL)
MMR Measles: no
Mumps: no
Rubella: yes
(nasopharynx, in low
titer; breast milk)
No, except
mother-to-infant
transmission of
rubella vaccine virus
via breast milk
Administer (SR-M)
Poliovirus, oral Yes (stool) Yes, with rare
cases of vaccine-
associated paralytic
poliomyelitis
Do NOT administer
(SR-H)
Rotavirus, oral Yes (stool) Yes, but no reported
cases of symptomatic
infection in contacts
Administer (SR-L)
Typhoid, oral No No Administer (SR-L)
Varicella Yes (skin lesions) Rare, limited to
vaccinees with skin
lesions
Administer (SR-M);
if skin lesions develop,
avoid close contact with
immunocompromised
persons
Yellow fever No, except possibly
shed in breast milk
Yes (at least 3 cases
of encephalitis in
infants exposed
to the vaccine via
nursing )
Administer (SR-M)
except to women who are
nursing
Zoster Yes (rarely recovered
from injection-site
vesicles)
Not reported Administer to age
≥60 y (SR-M); if skin
lesions develop, avoid
close contact with
immunocompromised
persons
3
