Did you find this answer helpful? Subscribe to keep up with all things Lifelong Learning.
I was wondering if the COVID vaccine is safe to get while pregnant or during attempts to conceive, if not - how soon can a person safely get pregnant after receiving a vaccine?
There are no data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. In other words, the vaccine trials were not performed on pregnant women and so there is no information as to the effects of the vaccine on the unborn baby. Similarly, there are no safety data available on the effects of mRNA vaccines on the breastfed infant or milk production. However, both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are not live virus vaccines and therefore scientists do not believe there is a serious risk to the pregnant mother, the fetus, or breastfed infant. There were no safety concerns in the limited animal developmental and reproductive toxicity studies (in rats) with the Moderna vaccine; these studies are currently being done for the Pfizer vaccine.
The CDC recommends that if pregnant or breastfeeding women are part of a group that is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine (e.g., health care personnel), they may choose to be vaccinated. It is recommended that pregnant women, women who plan to become pregnant, and women who are breastfeeding consult with their healthcare provider to help them decide whether to be vaccinated. Meanwhile, there is definitive data that pregnant women who get COVID-19 infection are at increased risk of severe illness, including ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and death. Pregnant women with COVID-19 infection may also be at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth. Formal vaccine studies with pregnant women are planned to be conducted so that this question can be more directly answered.
Here is the CDC’s webpage for more information on this topic:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/pregnancy.html
