Los Angeles Sentinel: Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Pregnant Women
The Los Angeles Sentinel recently featured an article written by Calvin Johnson, MD, an anesthesiologist at Cedars-Sinai who has been educating the public about the COVID-19 vaccine. In his piece, Johnson focused on vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women and addressed widespread myths.
Expectant mothers weren't included in clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines, leading many to worry that the shots could cause infertility, blood clots, preterm delivery or stillbirth. However, women have been able to conceive after vaccination, and recent research found that the placentas of pregnant women receiving the vaccines showed no evidence of damage.
"Data collected from pregnant women who have taken the COVID-19 vaccine so far has been overwhelmingly positive," Johnson wrote in the Sentinel article. He added that 99% of babies born to fully vaccinated mothers also developed protective antibodies against COVID-19.
"There is now enough evidence to clearly recommend that the benefits to a mother and her unborn baby of taking the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine vastly exceed its risks," Johnson wrote.
While some expectant mothers may have been frightened by the pause in distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after a handful of women among millions receiving it developed rare blood clots, Johnson saw the upside. "It demonstrated a reconfirmation of a 'safety first' standard guiding vaccine approval and distribution," he wrote.
Johnson added that there are many valuable steps a mother can take before giving birth to improve the long-term health of her baby, "and now we know that taking the COVID vaccine while pregnant should be on that priority list."
Click here to read the complete article in the Los Angeles Sentinel.