The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its recommendation for pregnant people to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
Previously, the public health agency said that "if you are pregnant, you can receive a Covid-19 vaccine." Now, the CDC is strengthening its guidance, recommending that pregnant people should be vaccinated against Covid-19, based on new data about the safety of the vaccines.
"We are not seeing a signal of safety concerns of the vaccine in pregnancy," Sascha Ellington, team lead for emergency preparedness and response in the CDC's Division of Reproductive Health, told CNN on Wednesday.
Pregnant women are at an increased risk of getting severely ill from Covid-19 and "adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth," Ellington said. "This vaccine can prevent Covid-19, and so that's the primary benefit."
The agency announced on Wednesday that a new analysis of information from its V-SAFE database, used to track vaccine side effects and safety, found no increased risk for miscarriage among people who received either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccines before 20 weeks of pregnancy. There were also no safety concerns among people who were vaccinated late in pregnancy — for themselves or for their babies.
Ellington said that the rate of miscarriage among vaccinated pregnant women was about 13%, which is consistent with the rate that would be expected among unvaccinated pregnant women. In response to the myth that the vaccine could cause fertility issues, she said, "There are no data to indicate that the vaccine has any effect on fertility."
The CDC says that it recommends Covid-19 vaccination for everyone ages 12 and older, including those who may be pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to get pregnant.
What the numbers show: As of July 31, only around 23% of pregnant women in the United States have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine so far, Ellington said, adding that "the vaccine coverage of 23% does give us an indication that it is below where we want it to be."
