SHOULD PREGNANT WOMEN GET VACCINATED?

GUIDANCE FROM PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS about whether pregnant women should get the COVID-19 vaccine has been conflicted and cautious to the point of being noncommittal. For instance, the World Health Organization initially advised that only pregnant women at high risk of COVID-19 exposure or with a separate underlying condition should get the vaccine; then the WHO revised the guidance to reflect the higher risk pregnant women face of getting severe COVID and the increased risk of pre-term birth. But it added a qualification: the available data was “insufficient to assess vaccine efficacy or vaccine-associated risks in pregnancy,” even though “animal studies showed no harmful effects in pregnancy.” An independent advisory committee of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested that pregnant women consider getting the shots “after consulting with their physician.”

It’s no wonder pregnant women are confused about the COVID-19 vaccines.

The larger problem, of course, is a lack of data: pregnant women were excluded from clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines. With no data on the impact of the vaccines on developing fetuses, many pregnant couples have opted for a wait-and-see approach. They may not realize, though, that in recent months evidence has continued to mount suggesting that pregnant women are in fact at heightened