Are COVID Vaccines Safe for Pregnant Women?
By Annette PInder
Traditionally pregnant women have not been included in any clinical trials, including studies regarding the COVID-19 vaccines. However, many physicians and experts say that omitting pregnant women from clinical trials is a mistake, especially since pregnant women are at a greater risk of becoming severely ill from COVID.
Researchers know that most vaccines are safe for pregnant women. These include flu shots which do not involve using weakened live virus, and the tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough vaccines, which are not only safe, but recommended during pregnancy. Now researchers say mRNA vaccines, which also do not contain a live virus, are also safe.
Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines work by introducing mRNA, a set of instructions for our cells to build antibodies to fight the virus. Researchers say it is therefore very unlikely that the vaccines would harm either the mom or fetus, especially since mRNA disappears quickly after the cell uses it to make the protein needed to fight the infection. Despite rumors on social media, mRNA vaccines cannot alter human DNA. In fact, the mRNA never enters the cells’ nucleus, where DNA is located, and cannot affect the genetic material of either a pregnant mom or fetus.
Both the Moderna and Pfizer clinical trials revealed that vaccines had absolutely no adverse effect on reproduction or in developing fetuses in female rats. The Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine, which uses a genetically modified adenovirus (cold virus), also cannot cause illness. In fact, several people who received the J&J vaccine during the clinical studies also inadvertently became pregnant, but did not experience any adverse effects of the vaccine.
What researchers do know is that pregnant women who get COVID-19 are at an increased risk for intensive care admissions, ventilations, and death. They also know that severe cases of the virus have been reported in newborns. As a result, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that COVID-19 vaccines be available for pregnant or lactating women as part of the priority groups defined by the CDC. However, since one known possible side effect of the COVID-19 vaccines is fever, which is important to avoid during the first trimester, doctors recommend that women consider getting vaccinated either before they become pregnant, or from the second trimester onward.
Because of the many questions surrounding the COVID vaccines effect on pregnancy, nursing, and fertility, Sarah L. Berga, MD, OB/GYN, a national fertility expert, will appear in a television interview with Kate Glaser, a Buffalo native who became extremely ill when she contracted COVID-19 while pregnant. Watch the program on Wednesday March 31 at 8 pm or on Saturday April 3 at noon. Dr. Berga is Professor and Chair, Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, and Medical Director of OBGYN and Women’s Health Program Development at Oishei Children’s Hospital and Kaleida Health. Kate Glaser is the Senior Manager of Brand, Communications, and Community Development at Make-A-Wish WNY and Founder of Hope Rises News. See where to watch the show at https://buffalohealthyliving.com/buffalo-healthy-living-wbbz-tv.
