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If you’ve clicked on this story, there’s a good chance you’re among the growing number of people looking for answers about whether the coronavirus vaccine is safe for pregnant women, or about the misinformation circulating in line that suggests the vaccine could even cause infertility.
Canadian doctors say they see an increase in issues like these since vaccines were approved.
And Google search data seems to back it up.
Over the past two weeks, the number of people searching for phrases like “Pfizer vaccine pregnancy”, “COVID vaccine pregnancy” and “coronavirus vaccine infertility” has skyrocketed around the world, overlapping with approvals and early deployments. vaccines in the UK and Canada. and the USA
READ MORE: Canada begins deployment of coronavirus vaccine. Here are the provincial plans
At the same time, the fact that the vaccine has not been tested on pregnant or breastfeeding women – a common and increasingly criticized medical research problem in itself – means that doctors are trying to guide patients on the best way to weigh the potential risks against the known risks, while combating misinformation.
“There has been a somewhat mixed message for so many things during the pandemic. We are learning so many new things at breakneck speed and things are changing every day, ”said Dr. Darine El-Chaâr, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist at The Ottawa Hospital and Clinical Scientist at the Research Institute of Canada. Ottawa health.
El-Chaâr, who specializes in high-risk pregnancies and is currently leading a provincial study into the transmission of COVID-19 between people who deliver and their babies, says the decision to exclude pregnant and breastfeeding women from trials of vaccines has real implications.
“They were excluded. Therefore, we do not have enough information and safety data to be able to advise women on risk, and that is where we are today, ”she said.
“The main issues are that frontline care workers – who are caring for many patients affected by the pandemic – are largely pregnant or breastfeeding women. So they make up a large majority of the workforce and they certainly want the vaccine. “
According to the Pfizer vaccine product monograph, “The safety and efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women have not yet been established.
“It is not known whether the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is excreted in human milk. A risk to newborns / infants cannot be excluded. “
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This prompted two different main approaches in the countries that have approved the vaccine.
The UK advises against offering the vaccine to people who are pregnant, breastfeeding or could become pregnant within three months of their first dose, while Canada and the US take a different stance.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women can still be vaccinated, but they should do so in consultation with their healthcare professional after weighing their personal risks of exposure and knowing full well that the vaccine has not been tested in their demographic group. .
Public health officials say anyone receiving the vaccine should avoid getting pregnant for two months after the last dose.
“Ultimately, it empowers women to make decisions about their bodies,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist recently appointed to the Ontario Vaccine Distribution Task Force.
“I think it’s difficult to make general statements for all pregnant women, because clearly, what’s good for one person may not be right for another… I think that’s the right approach.”
READ MORE: Lack of care for women could lead to nearly a million unintended pregnancies worldwide
El-Chaâr added that a key part of this conversation is the fact that while there is not yet clinical data on how this specific vaccine affects pregnant women, there is very clear evidence of Significant risks these people face if they contract COVID-19 during their pregnancies.
“We know the results are more serious.”
Can the coronavirus vaccine cause infertility?
Experts have also been clear about what they do with unattributed and unsupported social media posts that claim Pfizer’s vaccine will cause infertility – a claim even Facebook, often accused of facilitating the easy spread of the disease. health misinformation, has since marked as false.
At first glance, the disinformation presents a seemingly straightforward story.
“The vaccine contains a spike protein (see image) called syncytin-1, which is vital for the formation of the human placenta in women,” the fake article claims.
“If the vaccine works so that we form an immune response AGAINST the spike protein, we also train the female body to attack syncytin-1, which could lead to infertility for an indefinite period.”
However, scientists say there is no basis for this claim.
READ MORE: Misinformation spreads as fast as the coronavirus. It will take “ a village ” to fight it
Syncytin-1 is a protein involved in the development of the placenta in mammals.
According to Kyle Anderson, assistant professor of biochemistry, microbiology and immunology at the University of Saskatchewan, the gene that harbors the protein first appeared in mammals millions of years ago and is actually the result of ‘an ancient virus integrating into the DNA of mammals.
The spike protein on the coronavirus is a separate protein, and while there are some similarities between some of its amino acids and those of the syncytin-1 protein, those similarities are tiny.
“The idea that our body will recognize the spike protein Sars-CoV-2 and cause the antibodies to destroy a woman’s placenta is about as realistic as I can’t tell the difference between holding my hand. son and foot of a chicken, ”Anderson said.
“Yes, they have the same evolutionary origin, but that doesn’t make sense when it comes to our innate ability to tell them apart.
Roderick Slavcev, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Waterloo, offered a similar answer, pointing out that there was no significant similarity between the two proteins, therefore no plausible reason for cross-reactivity of the SARS-CoV vaccine. -2. cross reacts and creates an immune response against Syncytin-1. “
El-Chaâr also said there was no basis for this claim and said it was important for healthcare providers to have honest and frank conversations with their patients about the information circulating about the vaccine.
“Granted, it can be difficult these days, as the pandemic is 10 months away, so there is so much new information to learn as providers. I certainly see this fatigue, ”she said. “But there really is no other option right now to continue caring for our patients and providing these answers.“
With files from Rachael D’Amore of Global.
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© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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