Getting vaccinated while pregnant is safer than getting infected, says Dr. Henry

B.C.’s top doctor is urging pregnant and breast feeding women to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as infections in these individuals lead to higher hospitalization rates.

Dr. Bonnie Henry said new mothers and pregnant women who are unvaccinated are making up a large number of hospitalizations and ICU admissions in British Columbia.

During Tuesday’s COVID-19 update, Henry took a moment to urge pregnant, breast feeding, and women considering getting pregnant, to get their jabs.

She said there is a lot of safety concerns and information for these women to consider, but encourages them to find credible sources to address their questions, which she said should not just be on any possible side-effect of a vaccine, but also the risk involved with becoming infected with COVID-19.

“I encourage people go to the BCCDC website where there is very specific information about the vaccines, about the data,” said Henry.

“And, while it is true that the clinical trials did not include pregnant people, we also know a lot more about these vaccines and how they’re safe, and how they work in people who are pregnant and breastfeeding over the last year, where tens of thousands of pregnant and breast feeding people have been immunized.”

Henry added the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in Canada and the National Advisory Commission on Immunization, along with a large number of similar organizations around the world, have all recommended that pregnant and breast feeding women get their doses.

Henry also said Dr. Deborah Money, the lead researcher in the B.C. and Canadian study on COVID-19 and pregnancy, is looking at this topic specifically, and while the study will be published in a few weeks, the work to date is reassuring.

“[The study] has shown there is no increased risk of complications after being immunized or to your baby. There are no differences in miscarriages, pre-term births, still births or birth defects, and international data supports this as well.”

She noted that over 90,000 pregnant women in the United States alone have already been vaccinated, and a recent study looking at those outcomes could not identify any major side effects.

Henry also said pregnant women tend to have mostly mild reactions to the vaccine.

She went to on to say while there was no evidence of increased risk of neonatal complications once vaccinated, there is an increased risk of severe illness for pregnant women who contract COVID-19.

“Canadian data, including about 1,500 pregnant people here in British Columbia, and international data showed significantly worse levels of severe disease [in unvaccinated women], especially now with the Delta variant that we’re seeing, and higher rates of adverse infant outcomes, things like stillbirths and pre-term births or babies being born early,” said Henry.

“In fact, knowing this here in B.C. and across Canada, we prioritize people who are pregnant for early access to vaccines, knowing that this risk can be avoided by protecting people through immunization.”

She recommends pregnant women get vaccinated as soon as possible, adding that women who are planning on getting pregnant should also get their doses before doing so.

Dr. Henry also emphasized it’s especially important for people who work in the community or in high-risk environments like long-term care facilities or schools to get vaccinated.