STAR HEALTH DESK

COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are safe to use during pregnancy, and pregnant women had lower rates of health events after vaccination than similarly aged non-pregnant vaccinated people, a large Canadian study found.

Researchers found that 4.0% (226/5,597) of mRNA-vaccinated pregnant females reported a significant health event within seven days after dose one and 7.3% (227/3,108) after dose two. After dose two, pregnant women most commonly reported feeling unwell, headache/migraine, and respiratory tract infection. 3.2% (11/339) of unvaccinated pregnant women reported similar events the week before the survey. In the vaccinated non-pregnant control group, 6.3% reported a significant health event after dose one and 11.3% after dose two.

After doses one and two, serious health events were rare in all groups (less than 1%) and occurred at similar rates in vaccinated pregnant people, vaccinated non-pregnant people, and unvaccinated controls. Miscarriage/stillbirth was the most commonly reported adverse pregnancy outcome with no significant difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated women; 2.1% (7/339) of unvaccinated pregnant women and 1.5% (83/5,597) of vaccinated pregnant women experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth within seven days after dose one of any mRNA vaccine.

Source: The Lancet Infectious Diseases