Pregnancy, coronavirus vaccines and a difficult choice

Post Reports

The Washington Post

Daily News, Politics, News

4.4 • 5.1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2021

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Pregnant people and their babies face severe risks if they get infected with the coronavirus. Newly available vaccines could be a source of hope. But without good data, many pregnant people are agonizing over whether the shots are right for them.

As vaccines become more widely available, many pregnant people are being asked to decide whether they’re ready to trust and receive a shot. For some, that decision could be the difference between life and death.

False claims tying vaccines to infertility are driving doubts among women of childbearing age. Health officials worry their hesitation may affect efforts to reach immunization targets.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	From the newsroom of the Washington Post.
0:05.0	Hi there, is the Mayor, Marissa Lang with the Washington Post.
0:09.0	Hey, it's Dossie, I want to pick your brain on the truck.
0:11.0	Hi, Wayne's Jonathan Johnson.
0:13.0	This is Post Reports.
0:15.0	I'm routine powers.
0:18.0	It's Monday, February 22.
0:24.0	Today, how pregnant people are navigating this big question.
0:29.0	Should they get vaccinated?
0:36.0	A couple of weeks ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci announced that around 20,000 pregnant people have been successfully vaccinated against COVID-19.
0:45.0	With no red flags, as we say, and this is being monitored by the CDC and the FDA.
0:52.0	He also said that new studies are underway to test the vaccine's safety and efficacy in pregnant people.
0:59.0	He seemed hopeful about those trials.
1:01.0	We will not need to do tens of thousands of people.
1:04.0	We will need just enough measured and hundreds to thousands for safety.
1:09.0	And whether or not we induce an immune response that is equivalent to the immune response that has been proven to be protective under the trials that have now shown to be 94 to 90%.
1:21.0	For many pregnant people, those assurances are coming pretty late.
1:32.0	Because for months, they have been hearing a lot of conflicting information about whether they should get the vaccine or not.
1:39.0	And we have some new information for any pregnant women out there.
1:42.0	The World Health Organization says you should hold off on getting the Moderna vaccine.
1:47.0	Now, I do want to show you the World Health Organization's website and their recommendation. I'll admit it is a little vague, but I want to read it so you hear it directly.
1:54.0	It's a, we don't have any specific reason to believe there will be specific risks that would outweigh the benefits of vaccination for pregnant women.
	...

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