The pregnant and breastfeeding women can receive a vaccine against the novel coronavirus. There are no data showing that the fetus is affected by the COVID-19 vaccine. In the case of breastfeeding mothers, the antibodies obtained as a result of vaccination pass to the fetus. Even if immunization is theoretically possible at any stage of pregnancy, for now vaccination is recommended starting with the second trimester, after the organogenesis process is over, obstetrician-gynecologist Maxim Calaraș stated in an online event organized by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection and UNICEF Moldova, IPN reports.
The doctor said studies show that when pregnant, the woman is not more susceptible to infection. When pregnant women become infected, they are at risk of developing much more serious forms of disease. This means pregnancy predisposes to serious forms of COVID-19 and this thing should be taken into account.
According to Maxim Calaraș, initially the pregnant women weren’t included in studies and the vaccine’s impact on them wasn’t known. When mass vaccination started, some of the pregnant women wanted to be immunized. Studies in the U.S. showed that of the 92,000 immunized persons, over 800 said they were pregnant and they had gotten both of the doses. None of them reported complications. The women gave birth on time and the babies didn’t suffer from malformations. As a result, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the green light to vaccination among pregnant women and other states did the same.
Maxim Calaraș noted there are pregnant women who got vaccinated as they didn’t know they were pregnant. Even after they found out, the women got the second shot. The vaccine didn’t have any negative effect on the fetus and the rate of abortions didn’t grow. The indications for vaccination could be extended in the near future and immunization at any trimester of pregnancy could be allowed, not to mention breastfeeding.
The doctor also said that the children cannot be vaccinated against COVID-19 for now. Only in the U.S., the children can be immunized from the age of 12. Even if there is no evidence that the vaccines are safe for newborns, there is passive vaccination when the mother transmits antibodies to the child through breast milk. And this refers not only to COVID-19, but to all the diseases from which the woman suffered in the past and developed immunity and also to the diseases against which the woman was vaccinated and obtained artificial immunity.
