Vaccine is not usually given to infants under the age of 1 year as persisting maternal antibodies are likely to interfere with seroconversion. In 1984, the WHO Regional Committee for Europe set the target for the elimination of congenital rubella from the region by the year 2000. Experience from Finland indicates that the vaccination of teenagers and young adults is needed to fill the immunity gaps in the first 15 years of such a childhood immunization programme. No countries in the African Region include rubella vaccine in their national immunization schedules. In the South-East Asia Region, Sri Lanka and Thailand introduced rubella vaccine in 1996.
Rubella remains endemic in many countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.