ACOG and SMFM recommend COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant individuals

Only 22% of pregnant women have received one or more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even though COVID-19 infection puts pregnant women at increased risk of severe complications and death.

“ACOG encourages its members to enthusiastically recommend vaccination to their patients. This means emphasizing the known safety of the vaccines and the increased risk of severe complications associated with COVID-19 infection, including death, during pregnancy,” said J. Martin Tucker, MD, FACOG, president of ACOG, in a recent press release. “It is clear that pregnant people need to feel confident in the decision to choose vaccination, and a strong recommendation from their obstetrician–gynecologist could make a meaningful difference for many pregnant people.”

“ACOG is recommending vaccination of pregnant individuals because we have evidence of the safe and effective use of the vaccine during pregnancy from many tens of thousands of reporting individuals, because we know that COVID-19 infection puts pregnant people at increased risk of severe complications, and because it is clear from the current vaccination rates that people need to feel confident in the safety and protective value of the COVID-19 vaccines,” Tucker said.

For more information, visit acog.org and smfm.org.