The World Health Organization said on Friday that pregnant women could be vaccinated against COVID-19.
“While pregnancy puts women at higher risk for severe COVID-19, there is very little data available to assess vaccine safety during pregnancy,” the agency said.
“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 international body said.
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“For this reason, pregnant women at high risk for exposure to SARS-CoV-2 (eg, health care workers) or co-combs that increase their risk of serious illness can be vaccinated in consultation with their healthcare provider,” the statement read .
A healthcare worker prepares a Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital in Ramat Gan, January 12, 2021. (Oded Balilty / AP)
Experts from the agency said earlier that the vaccines Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are not recommended for pregnant women, unless it carries the risk of them being exposed a lot.
The Ministry of Health in Israel has advised pregnant women to take the coronavirus vaccine after a number of women expecting a baby to become seriously ill, with several babies born prematurely via a caesarean section due to life-threatening risks for the mothers and the children.
The ministry said this week that women should be vaccinated in their second or third trimester, but that women should wait in their first trimester unless there are other risk factors.
The ministry said the recommendation not to vaccinate in the early weeks of pregnancy was due to concerns about the increased risk, but rather that it was concerned about any bleeding or miscarriage, the risk of which in the first trimester higher, may be incorrectly linked. to the vaccine.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said this week that pregnant women should be allowed to receive the vaccine, noting that they are at increased risk for serious illness or death from COVID-19.
“People who are pregnant and part of a group that is recommended to receive the COVID-19 vaccine may choose to be vaccinated,” the agency said in a statement.
