One of the largest reports of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy reinforces the evidence that it is safe, although the authors argue that more thorough research is needed.
Preliminary results are based on reports of more than 35,000 American women who received shots from Moderna or Pfizer while they were pregnant. Their rates of miscarriage, premature birth and other complications were comparable to those seen in reports published on pregnant women before the pandemic.
The new tests of researchers from the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
None of the women involved received the unique Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which became available after the study, and is now in limbo as U.S. authorities examine reports of blood clots in a handful of women.
Separately, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine on Tuesday approved vaccination during pregnancy, based on evidence it has been evaluating for more than a year.
“Everyone, including pregnant women and those who want to get pregnant, should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccines are safe and effective,” the company said in a statement.
A company representative said the group has not evaluated the latest tests on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
A representative from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said the CDC report is promising, but long-term follow-up is needed. This group has previously said that vaccination against COVID-19 should be available for pregnant and breastfeeding women and that many pregnant women in the United States have opted to be vaccinated.
Although pregnant women were excluded from studies that led to emergency authorization for vaccines, the tests showed no harm to women who were pregnant without knowing it when they enrolled.
Dr. Laura Riley, president of gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, said the new results are reassuring.
” It’s great to have data to share with our patients who continue to weigh the risks and benefits of vaccination, ” he said. “They know the possible complications of COVID infection during pregnancy and now there are some safety data in human pregnancies.”
Pregnant women who become infected with the coronavirus have a high risk of complications, including intensive care hospitalization, preterm birth, and death.
The authors of the study, led by Dr. CDC’s Tom Shimabukuro said continued follow-up was needed and more testing was needed, including women receiving COVID-19 vaccines in the early stages of pregnancy.
Her study included information on 35,691 U.S. pregnant women who participated in a voluntary smartphone-based vaccination surveillance system and who received Moderna or Pfizer vaccines between mid-December 2020 and late February.
It also included reports of pregnancy complications from nearly 4,000 women enrolled in a U.S. vaccine safety registry. Of these, 86% or 712 resulted in a live birth, mainly among women vaccinated in the third trimester.
Most women in the surveillance group reported pain at the injection site, but more severe reactions were less frequent. Pregnant women appeared to be more prone to pain at the injection site with both vaccines, but were less likely to experience other reactions than nonpregnant women.
In the vaccine registry, approximately 13% of pregnant women reported miscarriages, less than 1% of stillbirths, 9% of premature births, and 2% of birth defects. These indices are within the same range observed in reports in pregnant women before the pandemic.
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Follow AP medical writer Lindsey Tanner on @LindseyTanner.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.