COVID Shots In Pregnancy Are Safe And Effective, Cutting Risk Of Hospitalization By 60 Percent

Analysis of data from almost 20,000 pregnancies in Canada has revealed that getting a COVID-19 shot is a great idea for pregnant people – not just for their health, but the baby’s too. As well as being linked to a lower risk of hospitalization and serious illness, vaccination was also found to be associated with a decreased risk of preterm birth.

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This large study included COVID cases recorded between April 5, 2021, and December 31, 2022, with the authors aiming to cover the periods of the pandemic when the Delta and Omicron variants were respectively predominant. Data was obtained from provinces and territories across Canada: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Yukon. 

“The body of evidence is overwhelmingly clear: COVID-19 vaccination is safe and effective in pregnancy,” said senior author Dr Deborah Money, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of British Columbia (UBC), in a statement. 

“Our findings provide clear, population-level evidence that COVID-19 vaccination protects pregnant people and their babies from serious complications. Even as the virus evolved, vaccination continued to offer substantial benefits for both mother and child.”

The risk of hospitalization was around 60 percent lower in pregnant people who had been vaccinated, and the risk of requiring critical care about 90 percent lower. These trends persisted even after correcting for other factors like pre-existing health conditions and age.

Preterm births were also significantly more common in unvaccinated individuals.

Interestingly, the data showed that these positive outcomes were even more pronounced in those who got vaccinated while pregnant as opposed to beforehand.

“Pregnancy is a unique period of vulnerability but also of opportunity for prevention. This study reinforces how vaccination can make a real difference for maternal and newborn health,” said lead author Dr Elisabeth McClymont, an assistant professor at UBC.

“There is never a bad time to be vaccinated – whether you’re currently pregnant or planning a pregnancy,” Dr McClymont added. “But our data suggest there may be added benefits to receiving the vaccine during pregnancy.”

Guidance around COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy varies around the world and has been in flux this year. In the United States, a lawsuit was filed in the summer against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) after it removed the COVID-19 vaccine from the recommended schedule for “healthy children and healthy pregnant women”.

Announcing that decision on social media, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. had called the move “common sense”. The leading medical organizations that teamed up to sue the department – including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the foremost medical body for children’s healthcare in the country – did not agree.

“This decision immediately exposes these vulnerable populations to a serious illness with potentially irreversible long-term effects and, in some cases, death,” the suit reads.

This latest study from Canada only adds to the already considerable body of evidence showing that COVID-19 vaccines are, in fact, safe in pregnancy and help prevent potentially serious perinatal complications.

“These latest findings provide critical information for pregnant women and their care providers and strongly support public health guidance that recommends vaccination during pregnancy,” Dr Money concluded.

The study is published in JAMA.