CDC urges pregnant women to get Covid vaccine, not find increased risk of miscarriage | Corona Virus

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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention urged all pregnant women Wednesday to get a Covid-19 vaccine as hospitals in hot spots across the United States see alarming numbers of unvaccinated mothers seriously ill with the virus.

Pregnant women are at greater risk of developing serious illness and pregnancy complications from the coronavirus, including possibly miscarriages and stillbirths. But their vaccination rates are low, with only 23% receiving at least one dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face a highly transmissible delta variant and see serious outcomes from Covid-19 among unvaccinated pregnant women,” Dr. Rochelle Wallinsky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement. .

The updated guidelines come after a CDC analysis of new safety data on 2,500 women showed no increased risk of miscarriage for those who received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine before 20 weeks of pregnancy. The analysis found a miscarriage rate of about 13% within the normal range.

The CDC advice reflects recent recommendations from major obstetric groups. The agency had previously encouraged pregnant women to consider vaccination but fell short of a full recommendation. The new advice also applies to breastfeeding mothers and women planning a pregnancy.

Although pregnant women were not included in the studies that led to the Covid-19 vaccines being licensed, experts say real-world experience in tens of thousands of women shows that the vaccines are safe for them and that, when given during pregnancy, they may offer some protection to newborn babies. Birth .

The new guidelines come amid an increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the United States, driven by the highly contagious delta variant.

Some health authorities believe the variant may cause more serious illness – in pregnant women and others, too – than previous versions of the virus, although this is still being investigated.

National figures show that the recent increase in cases among pregnant women is lower than during the peak winter outbreak. But in some hospitals in states with low vaccination rates, breastfeeding mothers are outnumbered during earlier spikes, before vaccines were available.

“This is by far the worst we’ve seen in the epidemic,” said Dr. Jane Martin, an obstetrician at Oceaner Baptist Medical Center in New Orleans. She added, “It’s frustrating and exhausting. It just feels like it doesn’t have to be like this.”

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