In new guidance issued Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bolstered their recommendation that pregnant women should get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Pregnant women were not included in the initial clinical trials of the vaccines, but the CDC pointed to “growing” evidence indicating that the vaccines do not have a negative impact on the health of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, or their babies.
One study cited in the CDC recommendation concludes, “Scientists did not find an increased risk for miscarriage among people who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy.” A separate analysis of CDC and FDA run safety monitoring systems for pregnant women found no “safety concerns for pregnant people who were vaccinated or their babies.”
The New York Times provides more context:
The new guidance brings the C.D.C. in line with recommendations made by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other medical specialty groups, which strongly recommend vaccination.
“At this time, the benefits of vaccination, and the known risks of Covid during pregnancy and the high rates of transmission right now, outweigh any theoretical risks of the vaccine,” Sascha R. Ellington, an epidemiologist who leads the emergency preparedness response team in the division of reproductive health at the C.D.C.
Axios adds, “Studies also found that coronavirus antibodies created after a pregnant person received a vaccine were found in umbilical cord blood, suggesting that vaccinations during pregnancy may produce antibodies that could protect babies against the virus.”
Thus far, vaccine adoption among pregnant women is low – only 23% had received at least one dose of vaccine against the coronavirus, according to CDC statistics.
Dr. Allison Cahill, who has treated pregnant women who have been put on life support because of COVID-19, told NPR, “I think that it’s just an incredible opportunity that we have in the United States, and everybody should avail themselves of this tremendous vaccine to prevent those types of things happening to people,” she said. “It’s really tragic.”
