COVID-19 Vaccine Safe for Pregnant Women, Analysis Shows

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released new findings in an analysis of current data that reveal the safety of COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women. Additionally, the data reveals that it is safe for those 12 years of age and that this group should get vaccinated.

“CDC encourages all pregnant people or people who are thinking about becoming pregnant and those breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH. “The vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face the highly transmissible Delta variant and see severe outcomes from COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant people.”¹

The CDC analysis of data studied revealed that there was not an increased risk of miscarriage among 2500 pregnant women studied that received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccination before the second trimester. The miscarriage rates remained the national average, at approximately 13 percent in the general population.

The reported data used was derived from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and the VAERS reporting form that is reviewed by CDC clinicians. Further, v-safe, a smartphone-based health checker was monitored and collected additional data for pregnant users through the COVID-19 Vaccine Pregnancy Registry.²

In addition, findings from various safety monitoring systems did not report any concerns for pregnant women vaccinated later in their pregnancies or for their babies. Together, these findings and the negative outcomes for COVID-19 for pregnant women, reveal the benefits of the vaccine.

The number of pregnant women infected has risen in recent weeks. This is due to the highly transmittable Delta variant and the fear of vaccination amid pregnant women. Due to the heightened risk of illness and complications for the pregnant populations, it is crucial that this population receive vaccination.¹

References

1. New CDC data: COVID-19 Vaccination safe for Pregnant people. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0811-vaccine-safe-pregnant.html Accessed September 8, 2021.

2. COVID-19 vaccine monitoring systems for Pregnant people. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/monitoring-pregnant-people.html. Accessed September 8, 2021.