The director of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) of the United States, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said on Friday that she recommends that pregnant people receive the vaccine against Covid-19 , after knowing the preliminary conclusions of a new study on Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
The first clinical trials of the vaccines did not include pregnant women, leaving the decision of vaccination to the discretion of pregnant women, after consulting with their doctor and assessing risks and benefits in each case.
Many women decided to get vaccinated at their own expense and risk as they were exposed to a high risk of contagion, such as medical personnel, or people with previous pathologies.
But the investigations that we are learning provide hopeful data for the protection of pregnant women and their babies .
Safe vaccine in pregnant women
Preliminary results from a study based on data from 35,000 pregnant women who received messenger RNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, and published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
According to their findings, no safety concerns were found among pregnant women who received the vaccine in their third trimester, nor were any safety concerns for their babies.
“As such, the CDC recommends that pregnant people receive the Covid-19 vaccine ,” Walensky said during a Covid-19 briefing at the White House.
“We know this is a deeply personal decision and I encourage people to speak with their doctors or primary care providers to determine what is best for themselves and their baby.”
Tune in for this morning’s COVID-19 briefing with Dr. Fauci, Dr. Murthy, Dr. Walensky, and Jeff Zients. https://t.co/2XpoPmykkT
— White House COVID-19 Response Team (@WHCOVIDResponse) April 23, 2021
The study reviewed data from 35,691 pregnant women between December 14, 2020 and February 28, 2021 from the V-safe surveillance system. The participants were between 16 and 54 years old.
The researchers said that the rates of preterm birth and miscarriage among vaccinated people who completed their pregnancies during the study period were similar to those of the general pregnant population.
Added to this follow-up is a large study published last month that concludes that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines against Covid are effective in pregnant women and protect the baby.
The short-term safety of the vaccine during pregnancy appears to be demonstrated in pregnant women vaccinated during the third trimester. From now on, the safety in women who have received the vaccine before will be evaluated.
Side effects in pregnant women
The most common side effect among pregnant women was pain at the injection site . It was observed that pregnant people experienced the same side effects as others after vaccination. They even reported headache, muscle aches, chills, and fever less frequently.
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