COVID-19 Vaccine During Pregnancy: Why Scientists and Doctors Say Safe

Public health officials and doctors across the country are a group of Americans concerned about vaccines and pregnancy, as the spread of new coronavirus variants has made the promotion of vaccination against COVID-19 increasingly urgent. We are working to reassure you.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Renewal Its COVID-19 vaccination recommendation For pregnant women, New analysis Shows the safety of shots during pregnancy. The analysis examined nearly 2,500 women who received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine 20 weeks before pregnancy and showed no increased risk of miscarriage.

Pregnant women Increased risk Onset of serious illness due to COVID-19 infection.However, as of August 7th Only 23% of pregnant people In the United States, he had been vaccinated at least once.

I used to have a CDC That advice Pregnant women can be vaccinated, and it is There was no evidence Shots will cause problems. New guidance to actively encourage vaccines Medical group Includes the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which provides strong support for pre- and post-pregnancy vaccines.

Here we address some of the questions PolitiFact sees online and ask readers about COVID-19, pregnancy and vaccines.

How serious is the risk of COVID-19 for pregnant women?

serious. Pregnancy On the CDC list A condition that increases the risk of people with serious illness from COVID-19.

Pregnant women wait for groceries on May 7, 2020 at a food pantry hosted by St. Mary’s Church in Waltham, Massachusetts. (AP)

According to the CDC, COVID-19 increases the likelihood that pregnant women will experience preterm birth and other complications. study Women who gave birth with COVID-19 were found to be more likely to die if they needed ventilation, if they needed intensive care.

Dr. Linda Eckert, an obstetrician and gynecologist and professor at the University of Washington, will take shots of patients as more evidence supports vaccination of pregnant women and infectious delta variants cause new infections. He said he began to encourage more directly.

“Pregnant women have very scary COVIDs,” helped write a statement from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology on vaccines and pregnancy, and also served as a group liaison to the CDC’s Immunization Practice Advisory Board. Eckert, who serves, said.

Eckert said her hospital is treating several pregnant COVID-19 patients and must provide an emergency preterm birth for mothers with respiratory disabilities.

In her own practice, Dr. Mary Jane Minkin has also seen a severely ill pregnant woman who was admitted to the intensive care unit with COVID-19. Minkin, a clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at Yale University School of Medicine, said a young pregnant woman struggled with a ventilator. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation To send oxygen-filled blood back to her body.

“No, the baby didn’t work,” Minkin said. She never knew if the woman survived.

Is the COVID-19 vaccine effective for pregnant people?

Yes. Increasing evidence suggests that Shot can help protect against serious illnesses caused by coronavirus infections, and also from infections in the first place.

NS July study The CDC emphasized the discovery that vaccines reduce the risk of infection in pregnant women. This study compared pregnant women in Israel who received the mRNA vaccine with similar pregnant women who did not.

There is also evidence that pregnant women may inherit some of that protection to their babies. CDC says Further research is needed. Antibodies produced after the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine are also found in cord blood and breast milk.

“Antibodies cross, and that’s great news, which causes babies to be born with antibodies that are present from their mothers,” Eckert quoted. Multiple studies..

Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe for pregnant people?

Yes. Public health officials, scientists and doctors widely agree that the vaccine is safe for pregnant women, and increasing evidence from safety data shows that it is harmless.

On March 25, 2021, a sticker stating “Vaccinated” at the former vaccination site, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (AP)

Much of the vaccine resistance from pregnant women lies in people who are afraid that the vaccine is not safe, Eckert said. And while those fears are real, they are not supported by the facts or the science behind the vaccine.

“We understand the mechanism by which vaccines work,” Eckert said. “They don’t have products that stay in your body. They don’t cross fetal tissue or placenta. They don’t integrate into DNA, so they don’t cause genetic changes. They just prime people. . Make antibodies against COVID. ”

A recent analysis of the CDC is the latest signal that the vaccine is safe during pregnancy.

“There is increasing evidence of the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy,” says the CDC. “These data suggest that the benefits of vaccination with COVID-19 outweigh the known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy.”

In the analysis, the CDC evaluated the data from it V-safe registry, Voluntarily collected information from pregnant vaccinated people via smartphones. The miscarriage rates of approximately 2,500 women surveyed (women who took Pfizer or Moderna shots 20 weeks before the first 20 weeks of pregnancy) were consistent with the miscarriage rate of the general population.

NS analysis Supplemented the body with increasing evidence that the vaccine is safe during pregnancy.previous review Analysis of data from the V-safe registry and two other safety monitoring systems found no safety concerns for immunized pregnant women. I didn’t even try We tested Pfizer, Modana, Johnson & Johnson vaccines on animals.

“Get the vaccine,” Minkin added. “You are thinking of becoming pregnant, you are pregnant, you are breastfeeding, there is no reason (not), and there are many reasons to do so.”

Does the COVID-19 vaccine affect my ability to give birth or become pregnant?

No. Vaccines are recommended for those who are about to become pregnant in the near future or in the future, as there is no evidence that they will cause problems in childbirth.

Evidence shows that the vaccine is safe for people who want to get pregnant, the CDC says Some false claims..

“There is no scientific basis to worry about the impact on childbirth,” Eckert said.

According to experts, Phase 3 clinical trials were an early sign that the COVID-19 vaccine did not prevent pregnancy. This is because some participants became pregnant. I told PolitiFact earlier.. Since then, many have become pregnant after being vaccinated outside the trial.

CDC Guidance highlight Some studies that support vaccination of women who wish to become pregnant include In vitro fertilization research There was no difference in pregnancy success rates between those who had antibodies to COVID-19 by vaccination, those who had antibodies by natural infection, and those who did not have such antibodies.

“Currently, there is no evidence that vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, cause childbirth problems in women or men.” Agency says..

A few False allegations For miscarriage and childbirth, we assume the idea that the peaplomer produced after vaccination resembles, for example, a protein on placental cells. However, the two proteins are not similar enough to trick the immune system into attacking placental cells.

“The two similarities were negligible,” Minkin said.

One as long as the man goes Recent research Of the 45 healthy men, we investigated whether the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had any effect on sperm volume, movement, or other properties. Researchers have found that there are “no significant changes” in these properties after vaccination.

Politifact Rated False Claims about vaccines that affect sperm production.

Does being around the vaccinated people affect the menstrual cycle and childbirth?

No. The COVID-19 vaccine is not “washed out” to affect unvaccinated people.

Some anti-vaccine skeptics Taking the childbirth claim one step further, people mistakenly claim that they need to worry not only about the vaccine, but also about other people who have been vaccinated.

A small private school in Miami sent a letter to faculty and staff instructing them to stay away from vaccinated students, based on the false assumption that the vaccine could affect unvaccinated people. .. Minkin said one of the postmenopausal patients was convinced that such excretion effects were behind recent bleeding episodes.

Despite these claims, the vaccine does not “flush” and cause Death, illness, also Menstruation and childbirth issues To nearby unvaccinated people.

According to the report, such excretion can only occur with vaccines that use a weakened virus. CDC.. Also, none of the COVID-19 shots licensed for emergency use in the United States are live virus vaccines.

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