The WHO quickly changed its position on pregnant people receiving the vaccine
The World Health Organization has changed its position on pregnant women seeking to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and changed its previous statement that the vaccine should only be given to pregnant women in high-risk categories.
The change came after many challenged the position of The WHO, which had earlier stated that it “does not recommend the vaccination of pregnant women” with the vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Conversely, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered different recommendations, saying that pregnant women should and can get the COVID-19 vaccine, which makes pregnant people wonder what to do.
Fortunately, the WHO has changed its position and now joins the CDC on the recommendation of the vaccine for pregnant individuals.
‘While pregnant women are at higher risk for severe COVID-19, very little data is available to determine vaccine safety during pregnancy. Nevertheless, based on what we know about this type of vaccination, we have no specific reason to believe that there will be specific risks that will outweigh the benefits of vaccination for pregnant women, ‘the WHO said in the updated guidance. This is in line with the CDC recommendation.
“The more permissible WHO language provides an important opportunity for pregnant women to be vaccinated and protect themselves from the serious risks of Covid-19,” said Dr. Jamieson, an obstetrician at Emory University and a member of the COVID expert group at American College. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, told The New York Times. “This impressive quick review by WHO is good news for pregnant women and their babies.”
Neither the Pfizer-BioNTech nor Moderna vaccines have been tested on pregnant women, but have shown no potential harmful side effects in animal studies. Pregnant women usually do not take part in drug trials and have been tempted for decades to get other vaccinations such as flu vaccine.
In addition, a National Institutes of Health-funded study published earlier this week indicates that pregnant women who have a severe COVID-19 case may be at higher risk for death and preterm birth than those who are asymptomatic. The WHO agrees and adds: ‘When pregnant women contract serious diseases, it is also necessary that they be cared for more frequently in intensive care units than non-pregnant women of reproductive age.’
Important update via @apoorva_nyc WHO changed the wording of his recommendations regarding pregnant women and mRNA vaccines against COVID-19: “we have no specific reasons to believe that there will be specific risks” which outweighs the benefits to this population. https://t.co/mcQWz61liQ
– Kari Oakes (@KariOakes) 29 January 2021
The CDC went on to explain the reason for their recommendation, because mRNA vaccines “do not interact with a person’s DNA because the mRNA does not enter the nucleus of the cell. Cells break down the mRNA rapidly. Based on the action of mRNA vaccines, experts believe that it is unlikely to pose a specific risk to pregnant women. ”
The LA Times reported about 1% of pregnant women in the U.S. needed ICU care for complications due to COVID-19, and 1.5 out of every 1,000 pregnant people died.
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