CDC says COVID-19 vaccine safe for pregnant people

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data earlier this week on the safety of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination in pregnant people, recommending all people 12 years of age and older get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The new analysis of current data from the v-safe pregnancy registry assessed vaccination early in pregnancy and did not find an increased risk of miscarriage among nearly 2,500 pregnant women who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine before 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Miscarriage typically occurs in about 11 to 16 percent of pregnancies, and this study found miscarriage rates after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine were around 13 percent, similar to the expected rate of miscarriage in the general population, CDC representatives said.

Previously, data from three safety monitoring systems did not find any safety concerns for pregnant people who were vaccinated late in pregnancy or for their babies. Combined, these data and the known severe risks of COVID-19 during pregnancy demonstrate that the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant people outweigh any known or potential risks, according to the CDC.

“The CDC encourages all pregnant people or people who are thinking about becoming pregnant and those breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19,” said Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, CDC Director, in a statement. “The vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face the highly transmissible Delta variant and see severe outcomes from COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant people.”

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