WHO quickly changed its stance on pregnant women receiving the vaccine
The World Health Organization has changed its stance towards pregnant women who wish to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, reversing its previous claim that the vaccine should only be given to pregnant women in high-risk categories.
The change came after many questioned the WHO’s stance, which previously stated that it “did not recommend vaccinating pregnant women” with vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. On the other hand, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered different recommendations and stated that pregnant women should and can get the COVID-19 vaccine, leaving pregnant women without knowing what to do.
Fortunately, WHO has changed its position and is now in line with the CDC in its recommendation for a vaccine for pregnant women.
“Although pregnancy puts women at greater risk for severe COVID-19, very little data is available to assess the safety of the vaccine in pregnancy. However, based on what we know about this type of vaccine, we have no specific reason to believe that there will be specific risks that outweigh the benefits of vaccination for pregnant women, ”said the WHO in the updated guide. This is now in line with the CDC recommendation.
“WHO’s most permissive language offers an important opportunity for pregnant women to be vaccinated and protect themselves from the serious risks of Covid-19,” Dr. Jamieson, an obstetrician at Emory University and a member of the COVID expert group at the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology , said The New York Times. “This impressively quick WHO review is good news for pregnant women and their babies.”
Neither the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines have been tested in pregnant women, but they have not shown any potentially harmful side effects in animal studies. Pregnant women usually do not participate in drug tests and have been urged to take other vaccines, such as flu, for decades.
In addition, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health published earlier this week suggests that pregnant women who end up with a severe case of COVID-19 may be at a higher risk of death and premature birth than those who are asymptomatic. WHO agrees, adding that, “When pregnant women develop a serious illness, they also appear to need intensive care unit care more frequently than non-pregnant women of reproductive age.”
Important update via @apoorva_nyc – WHO changed the wording of its recommendations regarding pregnant women and mRNA vaccines against COVID-19: “we have no specific reasons to believe that there will be specific risks” that outweigh the benefits for this population. https://t.co/mcQWz61liQ
– Kari Oakes (@KariOakes) January 29, 2021
The CDC continued to explain the reason for its recommendation because mRNA vaccines “do not interact with a person’s DNA because mRNA does not enter the cell’s nucleus. The cells break down the mRNA quickly. Based on how mRNA vaccines work, experts believe they are unlikely to pose a specific risk to people who are pregnant. “
The LA Times reported that about 1% of pregnant women in the United States needed ICU care due to complications due to COVID-19, and 1.5 out of every 1,000 pregnant women died.
See the original article at ScaryMommy.com