The World Health Organization (WHO) released a new guideline on Monday advising pregnant women to avoid taking the Modern COVID-19 vaccine, unless they are at high risk of exposure or fall into a high risk category for the disease . The guidance was not issued due to any observation of pregnant women becoming ill after receiving the vaccine, but due to the lack of data on the effects of the vaccine on pregnant women, who were not part of the trials.
Ultimately, WHO argued that there is insufficient information about how the Modern vaccine (known as mRNA-1273) will affect pregnant women, especially with regard to any potential risks to the women themselves or their fetuses. The WHO noted that pregnant women are at an increased risk of developing severe COVID-19 and that the disease is associated with an increased likelihood of premature births.
Although studies on pregnant animals have not produced any harmful results, WHO believes that more research on pregnant women will need to be carried out in the coming months for definitive conclusions to be reached.
“In the meantime, WHO recommends not to use mRNA-1273 [Moderna’s vaccine] in pregnancy, unless the benefit of vaccination for a pregnant woman outweighs the potential risks of the vaccine, as in healthcare professionals, “writes the WHO.” Information and, if possible, advice on the lack of safety and efficacy data for pregnant women should be provided. “
The guidance added: “WHO does not recommend pregnancy testing before vaccination. WHO does not recommend delaying pregnancy after vaccination.”
This guidance is similar to one issued by WHO earlier this month on the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, which is known as BNT162b2.
The guidance is not intended to be applied universally. The WHO added that the Modern vaccine can still be administered to pregnant women if they “are at risk of high exposure (for example, health professionals)”. He made a similar point in his guidance on the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine earlier this month, explaining that if “a pregnant woman has an unavoidably high risk of exposure (for example, a healthcare professional), vaccination can be considered in discussion with your doctor. “
As Nicole Karlis of Salon covered last month, tests of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine up to that point – as well as other major vaccine tests – did not include pregnant women, continuing a long-standing trend in the American healthcare system where pregnant women are actively kept out of vaccine clinical trials and other critical research. This practice is criticized by many maternal and reproductive health experts because it means that pregnant women may need certain medications, but will not have complete information about the potential benefits and risks involved in their use.
Both the Modern and Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines are mRNA vaccines, which means that they use a single-stranded RNA molecule and inject it into the body. These vaccines cause the body’s own cells to produce a protein known as Spike, which is associated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which the immune system learns to identify and protect itself from. Spike is the protein that causes the small pins that project around the virus sphere like the thorns of a sea urchin, allowing it to attach itself to human cells.
The WHO noted that because the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines do not include live viruses and mRNA degrades rapidly, there may be less cause for concern.