MRNA coronavirus vaccines are safe for pregnant women – study
The coronavirus mRNA vaccines do not present any additional risk factors for pregnant women, according to a major study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Monday.
The study was based on data collected through the V-safe Surveillance System and Pregnancy Registry by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between December 20 and February 14.
The registry was created by CDC in order to monitor the effects of the inoculation on women who were pregnant when they received the shot or became pregnant shortly after. Participation was voluntary.
CDC experts, who authored the study, could rely on health information from several thousand women who were vaccinated with either Pfizer or Moderna jabs, both based on the mRNA technology.
No significant increased risk factor was detected by the researchers, either for the mothers or the fetuses.
“Pregnant women did not report having severe reactions more frequently than non-pregnant women, except for nausea and vomiting, which were reported slightly more frequently only after dose 2,” they wrote. “Although not directly comparable, the proportions of adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes (e.g., fetal loss, preterm birth, small size for gestational age, congenital anomalies, and neonatal death) among participants with completed pregnancies from the v-safe pregnancy registry appear to be similar to the published incidences in pregnant populations studied before the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The scholars emphasized that the results are still preliminary, and that it will be crucial to continue to track the effect of the vaccine on pregnant women for a longer period of time.
“Continued monitoring is needed to further assess maternal, pregnancy, neonatal, and childhood outcomes associated with maternal Covid-19 vaccination, including in earlier stages of pregnancy and during the preconception period,” they concluded. “Meanwhile, the present data can help inform decision-making about vaccination by pregnant women and their health care providers.”
Israel saw a high number of pregnant women hospitalized in severe condition during the peak of the pandemic between January and February, with some eventually succumbing to the virus.
For this reason, health authorities have been recommending since January that pregnant women get vaccinated.