Skip to content Skip to search

Republish This Story

* Please read before republishing *

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives Creative Commons license as long as you follow our republishing guidelines, which require that you credit The 19th and retain our pixel. See our full guidelines for more information.

To republish, simply copy the HTML at right, which includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to The 19th. Have questions? Please email [email protected].

— The Editors

Loading...

Modal Gallery

/
Sign up for our newsletter

Menu

  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships
    • From the Collection

      Changing Child Care

      Illustration of a woman feeding a baby a bottle
      • The full PUMP Act is now in effect. Here’s what it does for lactating parents.

        Chabeli Carrazana · April 28
      • 1 in 4 parents report being fired for work interruptions due to child care breakdowns

        Chabeli Carrazana · February 2
      • Washington, D.C., offers financial relief to local child care workers

        Orion Rummler · September 20
    • From the Collection

      Next-Gen GOP

      Illustration of a woman riding an elephant
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • A banner year for Republican women

        Amanda Becker · November 11
      • Republican women could double representation in the U.S. House

        Amanda Becker · November 4
    • From the Collection

      On The Rise

      Illustration of three women marching
      • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

        Candice Norwood · October 11
      • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

        Nadra Nittle · September 8
      • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

        Candice Norwood · July 20
    • From the Collection

      Pandemic Within a Pandemic

      Illustration of four people marching for Black Lives Matter with coronavirus as the backdrop
      • Some LGBTQ+ people worry that the COVID-19 vaccine will affect HIV medication. It won’t.

        Orion Rummler · November 23
      • Why are more men dying from COVID? It’s a complicated story of nature vs. nurture, researchers say

        Mariel Padilla · September 22
      • Few incarcerated women were released during COVID. The ones who remain have struggled.

        Candice Norwood · August 17
    • From the Collection

      Portraits of a Pandemic

      Illustration of a woman wearing a mask and holding up the coronavirus
      • For family caregivers, COVID is a mental health crisis in the making

        Shefali Luthra · October 8
      • A new database tracks COVID-19’s effects on sex and gender

        Shefali Luthra · September 15
      • Pregnant in a pandemic: The 'perfect storm for a crisis'

        Shefali Luthra · August 25
    • From the Collection

      The 19th Explains

      People walking from many articles to one article where they can get the context they need on an issue.
      • The 19th Explains: How to ease the ‘loneliness epidemic’ and social isolation among older adults

        Sara Luterman · April 24
      • The 19th Explains: Who will be most impacted by Medicaid changes — and when

        Rebekah Barber · March 28
      • The 19th Explains: What we know about Brittney Griner’s case and what it took to get her home

        Candice Norwood, Katherine Gilyard · December 8
    • From the Collection

      The Electability Myth

      Illustration of three women speaking at podiums
      • Mayra Flores’ victory set a record for women in Congress. It also reflects the growing visibility of Republican Latinas

        Candice Norwood · June 21
      • Stepping in after tragedy: How political wives became widow lawmakers

        Mariel Padilla · May 24
      • Do term limits help women candidates? New York could be a new testing ground

        Barbara Rodriguez · January 11
    • From the Collection

      The Impact of Aging

      A number of older people walking down a path of information.
      • From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control

        Nadra Nittle, Mariel Padilla · January 27
      • 'I'm planning on working until the day I die': Older women voters are worried about the future

        Mariel Padilla · June 3
      • Climate change is forcing care workers to act as first responders

        Jessica Kutz · May 31
    • From the Collection

      Voting Rights

      A series of hands reaching for ballots.
      • Ranked-choice voting is gaining momentum. So are efforts to stop it.

        Barbara Rodriguez · April 24
      • Connecticut voters approved early voting. Here’s how their new secretary of state wants to make it happen.

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 13
      • Women lawmakers in Minnesota are in the vanguard of the democracy movement

        Barbara Rodriguez · February 3

    View all collections

  • Explore by Topic

    • 19th Polling
    • Abortion
    • Business & Economy
    • Caregiving
    • Coronavirus
    • Education
    • Election 2020
    • Election 2022
    • Election 2024
    • Environment & Climate
    • Health
    • Immigration
    • Inside The 19th
    • Justice
    • LGBTQ+
    • Military
    • Politics
    • Press Release
    • Race
    • Sports
    • Technology

    View All Topics

Home
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Latest Stories
  • Search
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • Fellowships

We’re an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy. Read our story.

The 19th News(letter)

News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Two pregnant women wearing masks walk down the street.
(Photo by Mehdi Taamallah/NurPhoto via AP)

Coronavirus

Pregnant people haven’t been included in promising COVID vaccine trials

Vaccine trials have had promising results, but a lack of testing makes it unclear if they'll be safe for pregnant people.

Shefali Luthra

Health Reporter

Shefali Luthra portrait

Published

2020-11-17 10:52
10:52
November 17, 2020
am

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

We’re the only newsroom dedicated to writing about gender, politics and policy. Subscribe to our newsletter today.

Early results from two major COVID-19 vaccine trials have sparked hope that the worst of the pandemic may soon be over. But it’s still unclear if or when that relief would extend to pregnant people, who have been excluded from those vaccine trials. 

Pfizer and Moderna, which are developing two high-profile vaccine candidates, have posted initial data from their large late-stage trials that suggests their products could be close to 90 or 95 percent effective in reducing risk of COVID-19 infection. Moderna’s data also suggests its vaccine would reduce the risk of severe illness caused by the coronavirus. 

The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one.

Both companies have indicated they will seek a federal emergency-use authorization, in which the government makes the drug available before having approved it, based on the strength of early results. That means vaccines could be available to the general public by next spring. 

But since the vaccine trials have thus far excluded people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, it’s unclear when the immunizations would be safely available for them. 

The exclusion has sparked concern from health experts, especially since research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made it clear that pregnancy significantly increases COVID-19’s mortality risk. Pregnant people are also more likely to develop complications and require intensive medical care, including requiring a ventilator.

A newsletter for the new electorate

Analysis and interviews from Errin Haines, delivered to your inbox every other week.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting…

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

“Pregnant women are now squarely in the higher risk population, which makes thinking about a vax for them — it was already a pressing concern, but it’s even more pressing,” said Anne Lyerly, obstetrician and bioethicist at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s department of social medicine.

Pfizer spokesperson Jerica Pitts said the company is working on a “potential pathway” to a pregnancy-related indication for the vaccine program, which would mean getting the vaccine approved for use during pregnancy. It is also currently doing early research — not yet conducting trials in humans — to see how the vaccine works in pregnancy, Pitts said.

Moderna has not specified its plans to research the vaccine in pregnant people. The company did not respond to The 19th’s requests for comment.

The federal Food & Drug Administration, which will determine whether either vaccine candidate gets an emergency authorization, could approve the vaccine for all healthy adults — which would then allow health authorities like the CDC to determine whether pregnant people should be eligible to get the immunization or if they will have to wait until one is specifically tested for them. The FDA could also approve a vaccine for healthy adults but specifically advise against giving it to pregnant people, at least temporarily.

Experts are still debating when vaccines should in general be tested on those who are pregnant. Historically, major vaccines have not been tested during pregnancy, because of concerns that both the pregnant person and fetus would be at risk for complications. But that thinking has shifted in recent years — particularly in light of the Ebola crisis, when, similarly to COVID-19, vaccines were not initially tested for pregnant people even though they were at severely heightened risk of mortality.  

Some researchers, following conventional wisdom, say later is better, when vaccines have been proven to be safe in pregnancy. But many others note that delaying when to include pregnant people in trials, as Moderna and Pfizer have done, will put them at risk. 

“We need data collected in a systematic way to guide pregnant women and their health care providers regarding whether they should get a COVID-19 vaccine,” said Sonja Rasmussen, a 20-year CDC veteran and professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of Florida.

Excluding those who are pregnant, she added, means much of the vaccines’ risks and benefits are still a question mark. 

“Many questions need to be answered,” she said. “Is the vaccine effective during pregnancy? Is a different dose needed during pregnancy? Is the vaccine safe for the pregnant woman and her fetus? Will the vaccine provide some degree of protection to the newborn infant?”

The FDA typically recommends pregnant people be included in late-stage trials. In its COVID-19 recommendations, the FDA advised companies to at least consider including those who are pregnant in vaccine trials, and in July, National Institutes of Health Director Frances Collins said inclusion of pregnant people in vaccine trials was “a top priority.” 

Some Democratic lawmakers have also called on major vaccine companies to include pregnant people in their trials or otherwise ensure immunizations are available to them. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Lauren Underwood introduced legislation to this effect in August.

Women of childbearing age are also disproportionately represented amongst frontline worker groups, including health care professionals and teachers — the very people who experts say need to receive the vaccine first.

“A significant number of health workers are women. Within that there are always, at any given time, a substantial number who are pregnant,” said Ruth Faden, a bioethicist at Johns Hopkins University who focuses on immunizations for pregnant people. “What’s the right ethics stance towards a pregnant health worker?”

Without good data, it’s difficult to know what the implications are for giving pregnant people either vaccine. But the mechanism underlying both vaccines — a new messenger RNA technology that helps the body develop antibodies to fight the coronavirus — has not been shown to cause harm during pregnancy, Lyerly said. 

This gives her “reason for optimism” that even without being tested on pregnant people, the vaccine could be used to protect them, she said. 

“The heightened awareness of the needs to protect pregnant women is a relatively recent phenomenon,” she said. “A focus on the needs to protect them through vaccination — not just from the risks of an intervention like a vaccine — that’s an important shift.”

Share

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

The 19th News(letter)

News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday.

You have been subscribed!

Submitting...

Uh-oh! Something went wrong. Please try again later.

Become a member

Up Next

A family sits on a beach

Health

A MacArthur ‘genius’ shares why he is using his award to support his wife’s work

In an interview with The 19th, Damien Fair and Rahel Nardos discuss their plans for the grant.

Read the Story

The 19th
The 19th is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our stories are free to republish in accordance with these guidelines.

  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Events
  • Search
  • Jobs
  • Fellowships
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Community Guidelines
  • Membership
  • Membership FAQ
  • Major Gifts
  • Sponsorship
  • Privacy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram