An Illinois mother is feeling shocked and upset after she was denied a Modern coronavirus vaccine by county health officials due to a lack of data for pregnant and breastfeeding women, according to a report.
Kate Raess, a clinical therapist and mother of two, did her research and consulted her doctor before going to her vaccination appointment with the Kane County Health Department, reported the Chicago Tribune. After Raess sat in the chair, she was denied the vaccine.
“I was so shocked,” Raess told the outlet. “Sitting in that metal chair and not listening, it’s like someone is pushing a pin into a child’s balloon.”
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Susan Stack, a spokeswoman for the Kane County Health Department, told Fox News that there has since been a policy overhaul that now allows vaccination among pregnant and lactating women. She declined to comment on the reported incident involving Raess.
“After consultation with the Illinois Department of Public Health, and with guidance from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists and Disease Control Centers, which state that pregnant and lactating people can choose to receive COVID vaccines, KCHD is providing vaccines for pregnant women and lactating women who choose to be vaccinated, “says a statement provided to Fox News.
Raess told the newspaper about “this internalized feeling of shame and judgment – that a city council felt I couldn’t make that decision, and they would do it for me”.
Raess, the mother of a 22-month-old daughter and an 11-week-old son, said she and her husband weighed in on the decision to receive the vaccine for months, which would ease concerns when she switched to face-to-face customer services instead telehealth.
Before the health department revised its policy, Raess told the Chicago Tribue that he planned to make an appointment for a vaccine elsewhere.
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The guidelines for pregnant or breastfeeding women on receiving the vaccine were mixed, with experts expressing concerns that inconsistent information could confuse pregnant women in the hope of whether they should be vaccinated against COVID-19 or not.
The World Health Organization last week, for example, reversed its guidance on pregnant women receiving the coronavirus vaccine created by Moderna, now saying it recommends the vaccine for pregnant women.
“We have no specific reason to believe that there will be specific risks that outweigh the benefits of vaccination for pregnant women,” said WHO in part, in the updated guidance.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci told the American Medical Association on Thursday that there was “no warning sign” in tests with more than 10,000 pregnant women who have taken the COVID-19 vaccine “so far”.
“The FDA, as part of the typical follow-up that you have after the initial issuance of a USA, has so far not found any warning signs,” he said.
He added that “many of the pregnant women” in the trials “were health care providers” who were exposed to COVID-19 and chose to “take a chance” with the vaccine instead of becoming infected with COVID-19, which some medical experts warning can have an adverse effect on pregnancy or pregnant women.
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In fact, a recent NIH-funded study suggested that pregnant women who contract severe COVID-19 disease face a high risk of death and premature birth compared to those with asymptomatic cases of the disease. But the adverse results were not associated with mild to moderate coronavirus infections.
Serious COVID-19 among pregnant women increases the risk of serious birth complications, such as heavy and abnormal bleeding after childbirth, cesarean sections, high blood pressure and premature birth, the study said.
Separately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that pregnant women should be counseled about the importance of seeking immediate medical attention if they develop coronavirus symptoms and that there should be a strong emphasis on preventing coronavirus for pregnant women in each medical consultation.
Audrey Conklin and Madeline Farber of Fox News contributed to this report.