IVF, Pregnancy, and Covid Vaccines
If you are pregnant or have been trying to get pregnant with IUI or IVF treatment and you have sought guidance from U.S. and national health bodies like the ASRM, CDC, and the World Health Organization (WHO) about whether it is OK for pregnant women to get the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, you are probably a little confused.
When the WHO issued its most recent guidance on the Moderna vaccine and said it was not recommended for pregnant women unless they were healthcare workers with a high risk of contracting Covid-19. In our opinion at New York Reproductive Wellness, this statement was inconsistent with guidance from the CDC, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), which did not discourage pregnant women from getting the vaccines.
Following an outcry, the WHO removed that language, and clarified that pregnant women with a high risk of exposure to Covid or those with pre-existing conditions may be vaccinated. “[B]ased on what we know about this kind of vaccine, we don’t have any specific reason to believe there will be specific risks that would outweigh the benefits of vaccination for pregnant women,” the WHO stated.
So, should you get the vaccine?
Well, it depends on your level of risk. We know for sure that pregnancy is a risk factor for Covid infection, and pregnant women with Covid have worse outcomes than non-pregnant women with Covid.
We also know that so far, there have been no negative outcomes reported from pregnant women who have been vaccinated against Covid, although pregnant women were not included in clinical trials for the vaccines. In other words, the existing evidence suggests that pregnant women face greater harm from contracting Covid than from getting vaccinated.
If you are a pregnant woman in a high-risk profession, your choice to get vaccinated may be clear, but what about pregnant or nursing women who work from home, or in the middle of fertility treatment at a Long Island-based fertility center like New York Reproductive Wellness and Dr. Zapantis? If you are one of those women, it is important to assess your level of risk for Covid, and decide, hopefully with the help of your partner, OBGYN and primary physician, whether getting the vaccine is right for you.
No matter your choice, remember to wear a mask, socially distance, and wash your hands frequently as we make strides to beat this pandemic together in 2021.
