Pregnant Women COVID-19 Vaccination Debate Continues

NPR's Richard Harris reported on December 5, 2020, vaccine researchers don't expect that the experimental vaccine BNT162b2 will put mothers or newborns at risk. But, unfortunately, pregnancy-specific research data do not yet exist.

Studies involving pregnant women are not expected to begin enrollment until the first quarter of 2021, reported NPR.

'We don't generally give live viral vaccines in pregnancy because there's a theoretical risk that the live virus could be passed and it infects the fetus,' stated Denise Jamieson, chair of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine. 'But with the exception of smallpox vaccines, there really have been very few problems with vaccines,'

In the UK, the NHS issued a notice stating on December 10, 2020: 'COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 is not recommended during pregnancy. For women of childbearing age, pregnancy should be excluded before vaccination. In addition, women of childbearing age should be advised to avoid pregnancy for at least 2 months after their second dose.'