Pfizer & Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines Appear To Be Effective & Safe For Pregnant Women

Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are effective in pregnant women and do not appear to pose any risk, according to data published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Both vaccines use messenger RNA technology, or mRNA, to protect the recipients of the shot. The Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines are not mRNA vaccines.

The data also shows that both vaccines are safe for women who are breastfeeding and suggests that the benefits of receiving the vaccine outweigh the risks.

Data from more than 35,600 pregnant women were reported to the CDC between December 2020 and February 2021, all participants being between 16 and 54 years old.

A follow-up study included a group of 3,958 pregnant volunteers who received an mRNA vaccine. Out of 827 completed pregnancies, 115 (13.9%) resulted in pregnancy loss, and 712 (86.1%) resulting in a live birth.

After the two studies, researchers concluded the loss of pregnancy and preterm births were not notably higher in pregnant people who had received a vaccine.

“Although not directly comparable, the proportions of adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes …  among participants with completed pregnancies from the v-safe pregnancy registry appear to be similar to the published incidences in pregnant populations studied before the COVID-19 pandemic,” the analysis said.