Why Pregnant People Should Get COVID-19 Vaccines As Soon As Possible
COVID-19 poses health risks during pregnancy for everyone involved. Pregnant people are at higher risk for severe disease, and the chances of negative outcomes for mother and baby—such as preeclampsia, preterm birth, and stillbirth—increase with infection. However, pregnant people were excluded from the original vaccine trials, so when the vaccines first became available, many soon-to-be-mothers were unsure about taking them.
Thousands of pregnant people have now been vaccinated in the U.S., and an abundance of data show that getting vaccinated during pregnancy is safe and protective for both mothers and babies, giving babies anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and, according to a study published in June, a 69% lower chance of being hospitalized with the disease in their first 6 months of life.
Now, research published in the journal Nature Communications on June 28 shows that getting the COVID-19 vaccine during any of the three trimesters of pregnancy confers measurable benefits to the mother and child, and there may be ways to optimize protection based on when the shots are given.
