BENGALURU: When the
anti-COVID-19 vaccines do arrive, those hoping to get the shots should ensure that they do not have any COVID-19 symptoms. Women of child-bearing age also need to ensure that they do not conceive for a certain duration after getting the dosage. While the government has prioritised that health workers, frontline workers, senior citizens and those with co-morbidities will get the shots first, pregnant women and those with
COVID-19 symptoms will remain vulnerable to contracting the virus.
In the absence of any safety trials conducted on pregnant women, regulators in Britain have advised not to offer vaccine shots to pregnant women, and the authorities there have cautioned women of child-bearing age to avoid getting pregnant at least for two months after they have been vaccinated.Experts said that in the absence of vaccine trial data on pregnant women, there are no convincing indicators to show its effects on the well-being of the mother and unborn child.
According to Dr K S James, director of International Institute of Population Sciences, the NFHS-5 has included new focal areas like non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including screening for cancers that have a high burden, like cervical, breast and oral cancer.
“There has been a complaint that NFHS does not collect enough information on other aspects like NCDs, which has been on the rise in the country,” Dr James told The Indian Express.
Data for screening of cancers has been newly reported in NFHS-5 and hence they are not progression based estimates, Dr James said, adding that it was a clear indication of low awareness levels despite non-communicable diseases being on the rise. “Western countries have to some extent controlled some of the NCDs as the screening is efficient. It is time to make a beginning here,” said Dr James.
According to Prof Ram, there is another equally important aspect that needs to be understood: women find it convenient to avoid experiencing strenuous long hours of labour pain since the C-section technology is easily available and affordable to most. “It is also important to note that the family size in India has reduced substantially and the couple can afford to spend for C-sections for one or two deliveries, unlike previous times, without fear of any medical complications in the subsequent deliveries,” said Prof Ram.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently released the first set of findings from the fifth and latest round of NFHS conducted in 2019-20 . The first set of findings has been released for only 22 states and union territories and includes the large states of Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal. Data from Uttar Pradesh is not included.