Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1404598
8 UCW AUGUST 25-31, 2021 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM FREE HEALTH CARE • for Eligible uninsured Adults call 910.485.0555 NEWS CDC data suggest vaccine is safe for pregnant women a STAFF REPORT Recent research is support- ing the safety of COVID-19 vac- cinations for pregnant women. ough pregnant women were excluded from the initial clini- cal trials for the vaccines — as is standard practice for all vaccine trials — almost 140,000 pregnant women have voluntarily joined the CDC's V-safe COVID-19 Vac- cine Pregnancy Registry since December, 2020. Cape Fear Valley Perinatology's Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist Stuart Shelton, M.D. said this is an issue that has come up a lot lately with his patients. Dr. Shelton is the only maternal fetal medicine specialist, or perinatologist in Cumberland County. He has been practicing in Fayetteville 19 years. "So far, the data show no in- creased risk of miscarriage, birth defects, preterm birth. or still- birth," Dr. Shelton said. "Basically, there's no increased risk of any adverse pregnancy outcomes. Data are still being collected and analyzed." Shelton said he tells all his patients the same thing when they ask about getting a COVID-19 vaccine. "I think the vaccine is safe, and I tell the patient that her risk of pregnancy complications is much higher if she gets COVID infec- tion than it is with the vaccine," he said. "And right now, we don't know of any increased risks as- sociated with the vaccine. If it was one of my family members or friends, I would highly recom- mend they get the vaccine without any reservation." at's not just his personal opinion. e American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine have highly recom- mended the vaccine for pregnant women and lactating women. "And the reason for that is they feel the vaccine is safe, and we know that if a woman gets COVID while pregnant, she has a higher risk of complications," Stuart said. "Pregnant women with CO- VID-19 have a three-times higher risk of being admitted to the ICU, and about two to three times higher risk of being on a ventila- tor. eir chances of dying from complications of COVID, com- pared with a woman who is not pregnant, are about twice as high." Shelton said that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are the best choices for women of childbear- ing age because of some very rare complications that have occurred in reproductive-age women who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. ose complications were not related to pregnancy. However, the best choice for any person is the vaccine they are willing to take. For some women with severe needle phobias, the one-shot ad- vantage of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could make it the right choice for them. ough Dr. Shelton typically sees women who are already preg- nant, he says rumors that vaccines cause infertility are unfounded based on available evidence. As noted by ACOG, given the mecha- nism of action and safety profile of mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Mod- erna), COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are not a cause of infertility.