The World Health Organization recommended pregnant women not to get the COVID-19 vaccine unless they are at high risk for exposure. Others say the choice is theirs.
Early on in the coronavirus pandemic, many predicted a “baby boom” would result, thanks to all the idle hours couples were forced to spend at home. So far, though, the research suggests the opposite may be true: We’re in the early days of a “baby bust.” According to reporting by the NBCLX news outlet, several states and a few hospital systems that keep track of births saw significant drops in birth rates in December, compared with the same month.
Major health organizations now disagree on whether or not people who are pregnant should get a COVID-19 vaccine. But experts in the U.S. maintain that the benefits likely outweigh the risks, so it’s worth seriously considering getting the vaccine even if you’re pregnant.
The World Health Organization updated its website this week to recommend against pregnant people getting the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. “While pregnancy puts women at a higher risk of severe COVID-19, the use of this vaccine in pregnant women is currently not recommended, unless they are at risk of high exposure (e.g. health workers),” the site reads. And regarding the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the WHO says that “due to insufficient data, WHO does not recommend the vaccination of pregnant women at this time.”