COVID-19 Vaccine and pregnancy

V-safe COVID-19 Vaccine Pregnancy Registry-click here

 

COVID-19 Vaccines and Pregnancy Click here for Immunization Action Coalition

Are COVID-19 vaccines safe during pregnancy?

Pregnancy is not a contraindication or precaution for Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, or Janssen COVID-19 vaccines. Based on current knowledge, experts believe that COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to pose a risk to the pregnant person or fetus because the currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines are non-replicating vaccines and cannot cause infection in either the mother or the fetus. No evidence exists of risk to the fetus from vaccinating pregnant women with non-replicating vaccines in general.

There are currently few data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant people. Limited data are available from animal developmental and reproductive toxicity studies: no safety concerns were demonstrated in these studies. Studies in pregnant people are underway and the vaccine manufacturers are following outcomes in people in the clinical trials who became pregnant.

Pregnant individuals who are vaccinated are encouraged to enroll in CDC's voluntary COVID-19 vaccine safety surveillance system, v-safe. A v-safe pregnancy registry has been established to follow outcomes among pregnant people who are vaccinated. Based on self-reported information, no specific safety signals have been observed among pregnant vaccine recipients included in the v-safe registry. However, longitudinal follow-up is needed to fully evaluate pregnancy and birth outcomes.

Are COVID-19 vaccines recommended during pregnancy?

Pregnant people are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 compared to non-pregnant people of the same age and may choose to be vaccinated with any authorized vaccine.

CDC and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend if pregnant people are part of a group that is recommended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, they may choose to be vaccinated. Pregnancy testing is not recommended before vaccination and individuals who are trying to become pregnant do not need to avoid pregnancy after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

Vaccination should not be withheld from a pregnant person who is otherwise eligible for vaccination and chooses to be vaccinated.

For more details about COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, visit CDC's webpage, Vaccine Considerations for People who are Pregnant: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/pregnancy.html.

Are COVID-19 vaccines recommended if the recipient is breastfeeding?

A person who is lactating and part of a group recommended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered vaccination with any available product and may choose to be vaccinated. There are no data on the effects of authorized COVID-19 vaccines on the breastfed infant or milk production/excretion. These vaccines are not thought to be a risk to the breastfeeding infant.