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Two prominent obstetrician groups on Friday recommended COVID-19 injections for all pregnant women, citing concerns over increasing cases and low vaccination rates.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine have said that the vaccinations of tens of thousands of pregnant women in the past few months have shown the injections to be safe and effective during pregnancy.
COVID-19 during pregnancy increases the risk of serious complications and can also increase the chances of preterm birth. U.S. government data shows that only about 16% of pregnant women have received one or more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Both groups had previously said that pregnant people should not be excluded from the vaccination, but had not approved the injections.
OB-GYN group chairman Dr Martin Tucker said in a statement that doctors should enthusiastically recommend injections to their patients.
Dr Emily Miller, chief of obstetrics at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, said she hopes the new recommendation “will help pregnant women feel more confident in their decision to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible”.
Miller is a member of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Group COVID-19 Working Group.
Pregnant women were not included in the studies that led to the emergency authorization of the vaccines. Experts, including the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have not discouraged vaccination during pregnancy and said the available safety information was reassuring.
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The Associated Press’s Department of Health and Science receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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