Study: Covid-19: Study provides further evidence that mRNA vaccines are safe in pregnancy. Image credit: Seda Yalova/Shutterstock
Pregnancy complications caused by COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has adversely affected pregnant women who are at higher risk of severe disease. Increased rates of hospitalization, intensive care, mechanical ventilation, and even death have been observed among pregnant women compared to nonpregnant women. The most commonly observed pregnancy adversities associated with COVID-19 include hypertension, preeclampsia, impaired fetal growth, and preterm birth.
Pregnancy vaccination and COVID-19
A gradual increase in the vaccination rate has been observed in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the proportion of vaccinated pregnant women is still low in the general population. Lower vaccine uptake has been observed among pregnant women living in socioeconomically deprived areas.
Several observational studies have been conducted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to evaluate the safety, reactivity, and tolerability of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women. The majority of these studies have indicated that vaccines are safe for use during pregnancy.
A recent study conducted in seven Canadian provinces and territories concluded that pregnant women experience lower rates of adverse events after vaccination against COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant women.
The Canadian study was conducted in a total of 5625 pregnant and 185,735 non-pregnant women who had received either the first dose or the second dose of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna). In addition, 339 pregnant women who did not receive a COVID-19 vaccination were included as age-matched controls. Self-reported information on vaccination-related adversities was collected from participants within seven days after each vaccine dose.
Overall, the study findings revealed that approximately 4% and 7% of pregnant women experienced major health adverse events after the first and second doses of the vaccine, respectively. In contrast, about 11% of vaccinated non-pregnant women experienced major health adversities after the second vaccine.
About 3% of pregnant unvaccinated women experienced major health adversities in the previous week. This observation suggests that not all adversities experienced by vaccinated pregnant women may be related to vaccination. Some of these adversities could be related to pregnancy in general.
The most common adverse health effects included feeling unwell, headaches and respiratory tract infections. Among all participants, less than 1% experienced serious health adversities requiring hospitalization or an emergency department visit. Regarding adverse pregnancy outcomes, approximately 1.4% and 2.1% of vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant women reported miscarriage and stillbirth, respectively.
As the scientists report, the study has limitations. Most study participants are white women, and therefore the findings may not generalize to other ethnicities. In addition, the study reported health adversities that occurred within seven days after vaccination and therefore cannot account for any long-term consequences that may occur after vaccination against COVID-19.
conclusion
The BMJ article explains the safety profile of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines during pregnancy. Based on the available evidence, the article suggests that pregnant women should consider getting vaccinated against COVID-19 to avoid the negative health consequences associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Given the low vaccine uptake among pregnant women, Sascha Ellington and Christine Olson, of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), report that, It is imperative that we continue to collect and disseminate data on the safety and efficacy of vaccination against Covid-19 in pregnancy and encourage health care providers to promote vaccination in all trimesters of pregnancy.”
