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The delta variant that caused an increase in COVID-19 cases in the United States this summer is particularly dangerous for pregnant people, new research shows.
Pregnant people infected with the delta variant are more likely to have severe cases of COVID-19, and the variant causes even worse outcomes for unvaccinated pregnant people, according to research published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology , a medical journal.
Nearly two dozen pregnant people died from COVID-19 in August alone, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Currently, only 31% of pregnant people in the United States have been vaccinated against the virus, and that number drops to 15% for black pregnant people, according to the CDC.
The agency released an “urgent health notice” last week calling on people who are pregnant and those recently pregnant or trying to get pregnant to be vaccinated against COVID-19, noting that the virus carries a double risk of admission in intensive care and a 70% increased risk of death for pregnant women.
The CDC’s advice was too late to help some families watching loved ones fight COVID-19 after contracting it during pregnancy.
Autumn Carver, a 34-year-old mother of three in Indiana, has been hospitalized since the end of August when she contracted COVID while she was 33 weeks pregnant, according to her husband, who said his wife was no longer pregnant. was not vaccinated.
“We had three miscarriages and saw a risk for us and we were given advice not to get the vaccine,” said Zach Carver, who shares updates about his wife on Facebook. “She made the decision and I supported her 100%.”
A day after Autumn Carver’s hospitalization, she underwent an emergency cesarean to deliver the couple’s third child, a son named Huxley.
Later that same day, August 27, she was placed on a membrane extracorporeal oxygenation machine, or ECMO, which removes carbon dioxide from the blood and returns the blood with oxygen to the body, allowing the heart and the lungs to rest and heal. She’s been on both a ventilator and the ECMO machine ever since, according to Zach Carver.
“I have heard that she is going to die countless times, but she is still here,” he said. “We are praying that she will rest on the ECMO machine. This is a new virus and it attacks the lungs like we have never seen it before, so we have to give it time.”
Autumn Carver had no pre-existing conditions and was doing CrossFit workouts until she began to experience symptoms of COVID-19, according to her husband. Her last words before she was sedated was that she thought she was going to have a boy, he said.
“Our children are our life and she misses them. She wants to be back with them more than anything, I know that,” said Zach Carver, who said his wife was now more alert and responsive, hugging him the hand. and nods. “She’s had a lot of obstacles to overcome and she still fights hard.”
In its new recommendation that all pregnant people get vaccinated, the CDC highlighted data showing that there is no increased risk of miscarriage in people who receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use mRNA technology, which does not penetrate the nucleus of cells or alter human DNA. These are the first mRNA vaccines, which are theoretically safe during pregnancy because they do not contain live virus.
MORE: CDC issues ‘urgent’ warning for pregnant people not yet vaccinated against COVID-19
Jamal Chubb, of South Carolina, said his wife, Cierra Chubb, was waiting for more vaccine safety data for pregnant people before getting vaccinated against COVID-19 herself.
She has spent more than 70 days in the hospital and is fighting for her life after contracting the virus during her third trimester of pregnancy, he said.
“We didn’t have the information we needed to make a wise choice,” said Jamal Chubb, who said he was vaccinated as soon as he was eligible last spring. “The thing we were waiting for was an approval from the CDC that pregnant women can be vaccinated safely. “
Just two days after being admitted to hospital in July, Cierra Chubb had to have an emergency cesarean section because her pregnancy was in distress, according to her husband.
She gave birth to the couple’s third child, a son named Myles, on July 26, two weeks before her due date.
While Myles was born healthy, Cierra Chubb’s condition quickly deteriorated after he was born. She was put on a ventilator and then on an ECMO machine, on which she remained for nearly 30 days, according to Jamal Chubb.
“The [doctors] only let me go [into the hospital] to see her on the days when they thought she was going to die, “he said.” They said even if she woke up she wouldn’t be the same.
MORE: Nurse Who Lost Baby After Contracting COVID-19 Urges Pregnant Women To Get Vaccinated
After spending nearly a month on an ECMO machine, Cierra Chubb’s condition began to improve in what doctors consider a miracle, according to Jamal Chubb.
“The doctors went from saying that she had to be placed in a hospice and that she would not make it; to today, she walks assisted,” he said. “Last month we saw her come to life.”
Cierra Chubb doesn’t remember giving birth but has now met her son, Myles, and reunited with her two older children, aged 7 and 2, according to Jamal Chubb, who shares details of his wife’s recovery on TikTok in the hope of educating others.
She is still on a ventilator but has recovered her cognitive functions and is taking action with help. Although she has improved, she may still need a lung transplant and faces months and months of rehabilitation, according to Jamal Chubb.
“There’s a good chance she won’t die, but there are so many questions looming,” he said. “I don’t want to see another person go through what we’ve been through, so if that means getting the shot, then for the sake of your family, protect yourself.”
Families speak out as delta variant of COVID-19 proves dangerous for pregnant people, which originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
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