The World Health Organization on Friday amended its guidelines for pregnant women considering a Covid-19 vaccine and dropped the opposition to vaccination for most expectant mothers unless they were at high risk.
The change followed a call from the previous position of the WHO, which stated that the organization does not recommend the vaccination of pregnant women with the vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
Several experts on Thursday expressed disappointment over the WTO’s earlier position. The experts noted that this contradicts the clues on the same issue of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that it would confuse pregnant women seeking clear advice.
The vaccines, manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, although not tested in pregnant women, have shown no adverse effects in animal studies. And the technology used in the vaccines is generally known to be safe, experts said.
The new phrasing of the WHO reflects this information:
“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 recommendation is now in line with the position of the CDC.
Experts praised the move and welcomed the agreement between the world’s leading public health organizations on this important issue.
“I was very pleased to see that the WHO changed its guidelines on the presentation of the Covid-19 vaccine to pregnant women,” said Dr. Denise Jamieson, an obstetrician at Emory University and a member of the Covid expert group at the American College of Obstetrics, said. Gynecology. The association was one of the many women’s health organizations that encouraged Pfizer and Moderna to speed up the vaccination tests in pregnant women.
“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 said. “This impressive quick review by WHO is good news for pregnant women and their babies.”
Pregnant women have traditionally been excluded from clinical trials, leaving behind a lack of scientific data on the safety of drugs and vaccines in women and their unborn children. Vaccinations are generally considered safe and pregnant women have been asked to be vaccinated against influenza and other diseases since the 1960s, even in the absence of rigorous clinical trials to test them.
According to a company spokesperson, Pfizer will test the vaccine in pregnant women over the next few months. And Moderna plans to set up a registry that can detect the side effects in women who have been vaccinated with the vaccine.