“Don’t worry we’re looking at”: Utah doctors explain how the COVID-19 vaccine affects women’s health and pregnancy

Salt Lake City — Utah The number of people vaccinated in the state is increasing as everyone over the age of 16 is now vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine.

More than 1.15 million Utahns have been vaccinated at least once with COVID-19, and since December 2020, more than 700,000 Utahns are considered fully vaccinated.

Over the past few months, healthcare professionals have learned more about COVID-19 and the vaccines that prevent it. Vaccines and pregnancy, for example, were one of the largest unknowns towards the vaccination process, as pregnant women were not included in the initial clinical trials.

That has changed in the last few months. Dr. Sean Esplin, Medical Director of Women’s Health at Intermountain Healthcare, said Friday that there are thousands of pregnant women currently vaccinated. Currently, there are studies showing the main benefits of vaccines in pregnant and lactating women.

As the vaccination process continued, Esprin urged pregnant women to be vaccinated and addressed other concerns about vaccines and women’s health, including the recent suspension of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

COVID-19 vaccine and pregnancy

Questions about vaccines and pregnancy were one of the more frequent topics KSL.com readers asked questions in the first few weeks Deployment of COVID-19 vaccine. There wasn’t a very clear answer to this in January, except that it was believed that the risk of adverse effects was low. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that pregnant people should discuss their concerns with their healthcare providers.

More data is now available. More than 50,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine, and researchers are “very closely tracking” to ensure that there are no major complications as a result, Esprin said. This includes regular health checks for women who have signed up to report their symptoms and review of medical data.

“So far, there is no concern among pregnant women that they are at high risk of vaccines during pregnancy,” he said in a Q & A forum with media members. .. “It’s really encouraging.”

After all, the decision to get vaccinated comes down to risks and benefits.

It was not clear exactly how COVID-19 affected pregnancy in the early stages of the pandemic. Because researchers were still competing to find something that could understand how the disease affects people.

Esprin explained on Friday that studies show that pregnant women are at increased risk of experiencing more serious symptoms from COVID-19 than non-pregnant women. Pregnant women with other COVID-19 risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and obesity are at increased risk.

“If you’re pregnant and have an infection, your lungs can be more affected and you’re more likely to need help with breathing,” he said. “You are more likely to be admitted to a hospital or ICU, which can make you even more likely to die. This is unusual because it is known for other viral infections (for example, just normal flu). Not that. While you are pregnant, you will get it, you can have a tougher course. “

With regard to vaccines, most minor side effects have been reported overall. Esplin pointed out that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are mRNA vaccines and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines are attenuated virus vaccines.

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So far, there is no need to worry about “hey, the risk of vaccines during pregnancy” among pregnant women. … it’s really encouraging.

– Dr. Sean Esprin, Medical Director of Women’s Health at Intermountain Healthcare

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According to Esprin, the risk of RNA vaccines is very low. Earlier this week, Utah joined many other regions that suspended the use of Johnson & Johnson vaccines. This is because six patients were found who developed the disease after receiving a particular blood clot.

Esprin said that blood clots occur more frequently in women, but there have been no reports of pregnant women who developed blood clots after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

He saw this outage as evidence that the evaluation system in place during the emergency use authorization was working. Even if it was suspended, he said vaccine options were rare enough to be considered more dangerous than infection.

“The problem we see is very rare — it’s a millionth,” he said. “Looking at the number of lives saved by vaccination, the risk-benefit ratio actually still supports vaccination.”

So he said he would be happy that the vaccine was still being administered if federal authorities re-approved the vaccine. This is expected to be as early as next week.

If they are risks, what are the benefits? That is what is currently being studied as more pregnant women are vaccinated. However, there are some early signs that there are many benefits from it.

One study published last month in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Pregnant or lactating women at the time of vaccination were found to have a better immune response than women infected with COVID-19. That is, they had more antibodies through the vaccine than if their body’s immune system fought the virus.

“It’s really great because vaccination is more protected than if you were infected with a natural COVID infection,” says Esprin. “As we expect, vaccines can produce the reactions we want and show that they are at much higher levels than if you were infected yourself.”

Another benefit of this is that the antibody crosses the placenta to the baby and also from breastfeeding, Esprin added.

“We always know that breastfeeding is really important for newborns to be protected, so we provide vaccinations during pregnancy,” he said. “We provide (tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough) and flu vaccines, partly to protect the mother, but partly to protect the baby. Therefore, these COVID antibodies Knowing that you have reached your baby means that you should be vaccinated if you want to keep yourself safe during pregnancy and keep your baby as safe as possible with respect to COVID. , The baby’s (antibody) level will be higher. “”

Esprin revealed that there is no particular time for vaccination during pregnancy.

“I think the best time is when you are offered,” he said. “I’m not telling people to wait for a specific time.”

Women and Johnson & Johnson Vaccines

In a joint statementThe CDC and the Food and Drug Administration have confirmed that women aged 18-48 years are involved in all six cases of thrombosis caused by the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Symptoms in all 6 cases were reported 6 to 13 days after vaccination.

“Treatment for this particular type of blood clot is different from the treatment that may usually be given,” the authorities write. “Usually, an anticoagulant called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this situation, administration of heparin can be dangerous and requires alternative treatment.”

In all six cases, a blood clot is involved in one of the vena cava in the brain, according to Esprin.

Women are more likely to develop blood clots, and all six reported cases are related to women, so people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, especially women, were described how to monitor the system.

Esprin explained that “abnormal headaches”, shortness of breath and chest pain, swelling of the legs, one of which is more swollen than the other, or redness / tenderness are the greatest signs of a blood clot.

“It’s important to notify your doctor if you have such symptoms and are evaluated,” he said. “We are learning and now we know the right way to treat it.”

Medical experts reminded individuals on Friday that the number of cases indicates that the onset of these symptoms is extremely rare. If these symptoms do not develop after about 3 weeks, the individual seems to be clear.

Esprin said he still wants everyone to feel at ease within that three-week period.

“The odds are that you’ll be fine,” he added.

Vaccines and menstrual cycle

There is new research This is investigating the possible effects of the COVID-19 vaccine on the menstrual cycle. The idea came after research leader Dr. Kate Clancy, an associate professor and graduate research director at the University of Illinois, started a social media thread on possible menstrual cycle complications after COVID-19 vaccination. I did.

February 24th by tweet, She asked: “A colleague told me that they had heard from others that their period was heavy after waxing. Am I curious if other menstruation noticed changes?”

Many responses to the thread were in the process of being documented and approved for official research, the university said earlier this month.

So far, Esprin said he was unaware of medical information about the effects on the menstrual cycle and infertility. This includes notifications from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. In many cases, case documents are difficult to prove causality, he said.

“At this point there is no evidence that the vaccine has any effect on the infertility or menstrual cycle we are aware of,” he said. “The interesting thing is that when something happens after vaccination, I think,’Oh, it’s the vaccine that’s causing it.’ There’s no real evidence to support these concerns.”

If you have a serious health change that you think may be related to your vaccine, such as a change in your menstrual cycle, we recommend that you report it to your healthcare provider so that you can add it to your vaccine. I will. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System Set for COVID-19 vaccine.

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