College-Educated Pregnant Women Are More Likely to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine

Pregnant women with a college education were more likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccination than those who were not college educated, according to study data published in Vaccine.¹ These findings support those of previous studies that have shown a positive correlation between vaccination and educational status.

“Once infected with COVID-19, pregnant women are at an increased risk of severe manifestations of COVID-19, resulting in ICU [intensive care unit] admission, mechanical ventilation, and death compared to nonpregnant women,” wrote authors of the study. “Pregnant women with COVID-19 are also at increased risk of preterm birth and may be at risk of other adverse pregnancy outcomes, including stillbirth, compared to pregnant women without COVID-19.”

Not only does pregnancy come with an increased risk of severe COVID-19, but those risks are also known to persist for up to a month following birth. Prominent conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are also known to further complicate COVID-19 symptoms among pregnant women. With all these increased risks, pregnant women are one of the most important populations in need of protection against COVID-19.²

READ MORE: Women With Hypoglycemia Prior to Pregnancy Are More Likely to Have Adverse Outcomes

After several clinical trials and continuous research efforts to further improve them, COVID-19 vaccines have been deemed safe and effective for all individuals over 6 months of age.³ This includes all women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant, or expect to be pregnant in the future. Furthermore, regarding its safety and effectiveness, the vaccine has never been associated with any fertility issues among men or women.

“In Kenya, pregnant and lactating women were initially considered ineligible for vaccination,” they continued.¹ “Following global guidance and recommendations, an official social media post from the Kenya Ministry of Health on January 29, 2022, declared all COVID-19 vaccines safe for use for pregnant and breastfeeding women.”

During a similar time period, the CDC released recommendations for pregnant women in the US to receive the COVID-19 vaccine,⁴ dispelling myths that it was not safe or effective in this population. However, despite the evidence and recommendations provided by experts and public health leaders around the world—such as the CDC—researchers of the current study wanted to better understand public sentiments toward the vaccine.

In Kenya, though, researchers have uncovered previously conflicting associations of education level and socioeconomic status with vaccine uptake. With these links even more prominent among pregnant women in Kenya, researchers focused on a specific patient population to better understand associations of COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

“Given the varying evidence of the role that socioeconomic factors can have on vaccine decision-making, we conducted this study to better understand the association between socioeconomic and educational status with vaccination attitudes and behaviors among pregnant women seeking health care services in 2 diverse clinics in Nairobi, Kenya,” they wrote.¹

The study was conducted in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi. Researchers recruited pregnant women referred to one of 2 hospitals in the region: Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) and Pumwani Maternity Hospital (PMH). Each participant was given a survey that detailed various characteristics, including vaccine history, potential COVID-19 doses, reasons for or against vaccination, attitudes toward the COVID-19 disease and vaccine, and general socioeconomic characteristics.

The researchers’ final analysis included 400 women (58% aged between 25 and 34 years; 72% vaccinated) who completed surveys. Regarding the education splits explored in the study, 271 had at least a college education, and the remaining 129 participants were reported as having less than a college education.

For the survey questions related to history with the COVID-19 vaccine, participants at AKUH and those with at least some college education were more likely to have received the vaccination than individuals at PMH and those with no college education, respectively. A greater portion of those who did not receive a college education (36.4%) were more likely not to be vaccinated than those with a college education (24.7%).

“In our study, pregnant women with at least a college education were more likely to have been vaccinated for COVID-19 in the past vs pregnant women without a college education,” concluded the authors.¹ “In a multicountry study examining attitudes among pregnant women, women with no formal education were less willing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Kenya. Communicating the benefits of maternal vaccination while also allaying vaccine concerns will help nudge women toward maternal vaccine acceptance.”

READ MORE: COVID-19 Resource Center

Are you ready to elevate your pharmacy practice? Sign up today for our free Drug Topics newsletter and get the latest drug information, industry trends, and patient care tips straight to your inbox.

REFERENCES

1. Schue JL, Okwaro F, Gichere I, et al. COVID-19 vaccine attitudes and behaviors among pregnant women in Nairobi, Kenya with diverse socio-economic and educational backgrounds. Vaccine. Published online July 12, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127480

2. Pregnancy and COVID-19: what are the risks? Mayo Clinic. September 7, 2024. Accessed July 31, 2025. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/pregnancy-and-covid-19/art-20482639

3. COVID-19 vaccination for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. CDC. September 10, 2024. Accessed July 31, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/pregnant-or-breastfeeding.html

4. Lipkind HS, Vazquez-Benitez G, DeSilva M, et al. Receipt of COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy and preterm or small-for-gestational-age at birth — eight integrated health care organizations, United States, December 15, 2020-July 22, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2022;71(1):26-30. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7101e1