Expecting during the pandemic: Should you get Covid-19 Vaccine?

Pregnant women are going through a dilemma: whether theyshould get the Covid-19 vaccine shot or give it a miss. According to an articleby Amy Mckeever in the National Geographic there is no data that could provevaccines safe and effective for those who are expecting.

Pregnant women are, as per experts at the higher risk ofcomplications after the infection. The Center for Disease Control andPrevention (CDC) had said that the vaccines should be made available for the womenwho are expecting but they should be given an option if they would like to havea shot or not. However, World Health Organization (WHO) had given acontradictory view about administering a vaccine to expectant women.

According to reports, it is significant to consult expertor doctors during pregnancy, especially when the expectant woman is eager toget vaccinated.

Whatare some of the evidence available propose?

Pregnant people were excluded from the randomizedclinical trials. These trials are required to get the approval for vaccine ordrug. That is why it takes a lot of time before the vaccine is declared safefor expectant people because the trials involve fewer participants and usuallythere is extra care involved during pregnancy and family of the pregnant personalso mostly discourages them.

Some experts term it unfair decision for expectant woman.They are also of the view that vaccine should be made available to them afterthe tests in all circumstances. Faden, who leads the Pregnancy Research Ethicsfor Vaccines, Epidemics and New Technologies was quoted by National Geographicas saying, "“What has resulted from this has been decades of essentiallyunfairness to pregnant women.”

Evidence is available regarding some vaccines that aresafe and directly needed. CDC encourages women to get vaccines againstinfluenza that is likely to cause complication in expecting women. Pertusis canbe dangerous for newborns and doctors suggest getting vaccine for it. Vaccinesagainst hepatitis and meningitis are also available for use.

There are fears that some vaccines lead to complicationsbut as per experts some complications are theoretically based and there is noevidence of it in major cases. The messenger RNA platform thaat the Pfizer-BioNTechvaccines use had not been licensed for human use. The data available thoughpreclinical studies doesn't pose any red flags for pregnant people yet,according to Dr Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor of White House.

There are still several concerns about the real workingof the mRNA vaccine. The animal tests according to experts have still notshowed any side-effects but it is yet to be tested on expectant people. Fearare rife that it could lead to side effects in women or the fetus.

Clinical trials are in the pipeline to ascertain theefficacy of vaccines on expectant women. According to research, pregnant womenare at higher risk for hospitalization, mechanical ventilation. They could alsobe admitted to ICU. One of the research was also published in the jorunal JAMAinternal medicine that stated, Covid-19 is associated with higher odds of bloodpressures and premature births. As per research, there was no greater chancesof still birth.

According to reports, the pregnant women should get thevaccines when they are eligible and after the data is collected from vaccinatedpeople. The pregnant healthcare workers had started taking vaccine in Decemberand data will be available soon. More than 15,000 expectant women were reportedto CDC that were administered vaccine until January 20, according to an articlepublished in National Geographic.

Johnson & Johnson, Astra-Zeneca and Novavax vaccines usestechniques that have been studied previously on pregnant women. Having avaccine during pregnancy could also have extra benefits because mother thentransfer antibodies to their babies, only if infected earlier in the pregnancy.It is suggested by a research published in the journal JAMA pediatrics.

However, the transfer is not likely to happen aftervaccination.