On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) presented new evidence which the federal agency believes strengthens its recommendation that “pregnant people” should be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“With vaccination rates low among pregnant women, the new guidance officially moves the CDC off its previously neutral stance on whether immunization is safe for them,” noted The Washington Post. “It comes two days after more than 20 health organizations urged vaccinations for pregnant women, those who have recently been pregnant and those who plan to become pregnant.”
“CDC recommends that pregnant people should be vaccinated against COVID-19, based on new evidence about the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines,” the CDC announced in a news release. “COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people 12 years and older, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future.”
According to groups including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Pregnant individuals are at increased risk of severe COVID-19 infection, including death.”
“With cases rising as a result of the Delta variant, the best way for pregnant individuals to protect themselves against the potential harm from COVID-19 infection is to be vaccinated,” they stated.
“Evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, although limited, has been growing,” the CDC states on its website. “These data suggest that the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy.”
The following data points are listed:
- “No safety concerns were found in animal studies.”
- “No adverse pregnancy-related outcomes occurred in previous clinical trials that used the same vaccine platform as the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.”
- “COVID-19 vaccines do not cause infection, including in pregnant people or their babies.”
- “Early data on the safety of receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech) during pregnancy are reassuring.”
- “Early data suggest receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy reduces the risk for infection.”
- “Vaccination of pregnant people builds antibodies that might protect their baby.”
According to ABC News, the CDC’s update “is based on further research that found pregnant people can receive an mRNA vaccine with no increased risk to themselves or their babies.”
“Getting the vaccine early in pregnancy, including anytime before 20 weeks, poses no increased risk for miscarriage, CDC scientists found, and there are no safety concerns for pregnant people vaccinated late in pregnancy, or for their babies,” the outlet added.
On the subject of miscarriage rates for those who “received the mRNA vaccine before 20 weeks of pregnancy,” The Washington Post reported that the CDC “did not find an increased risk for miscarriage” and that “rates were similar to the expected rate generally.”
“Previous findings did not reveal any safety concerns for pregnant people who were vaccinated late in pregnancy or for their infants,” The Washington Post added, before noting that “Other research has shown that COVID-19 presents a significant risk of complications for pregnant women, including preterm birth.”
