Vaccination of pregnant or lactating people
Any of the currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines can be administered to pregnant or lactating people; ACIP does not state a product preference. However, pregnant, lactating, and post-partum people aged <50 years should be aware of the rare risk of TTS after receipt of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine and the availability of other FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines (i.e., mRNA vaccines). See also People with a history of thrombosis or risk factors for thrombosis.
Pregnant people
Observational data demonstrate that pregnant people with COVID-19 have an increased risk of severe illness, including illness resulting in intensive care admission, mechanical ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or death, though the absolute risk for these outcomes is low. Additionally, they are at increased risk of preterm birth and might be at an increased risk of adverse pregnancy complications and outcomes, such as preeclampsia, coagulopathy, and stillbirth.
Data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant people are limited. No female reproduction or fetal, embryonal, or postnatal development safety concerns were demonstrated in animals that received Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Janssen COVID-19 vaccines before or during gestation. In addition, the adenovirus vector platform used in the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine has also been used for other Janssen vaccine development programs that have included pregnant people vaccinated during any trimester, including in a large-scale Ebola vaccination trial. No adverse pregnancy-related outcomes—including infant outcomes—were determined to be related to the vaccine in these trials.
Based on current knowledge, experts believe that COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to pose a risk to the pregnant person or fetus. The FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines (i.e., mRNA vaccines and a non-replicating viral vector vaccine) cannot cause infection in either the mother or the fetus. No evidence exists of risk to the fetus from vaccinating pregnant women with non-replicating vaccines in general. However, the potential risks of COVID-19 vaccines to the pregnant person and the fetus are unknown because these vaccines have not been studied in pregnant people. Clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant people are underway or planned. Vaccine manufacturers are also following outcomes in people in the clinical trials who became pregnant.
CDC recently released the first U.S. dataexternal icon on the safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines administered during pregnancy. The report analyzed data from three vaccine-safety-related databases: VAERS, the v-safe active surveillance system, and the v-safe pregnancy registry, which collects more detailed data on people who are pregnant and their infants. Early data from these systems did not identify any safety concerns for pregnant people who were vaccinated or for their babies. Most of the pregnancies in these systems are ongoing; additional follow-up is needed, particularly among those vaccinated in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. CDC will continue to collect information from people who agree to participate in these vaccine-safety-related databases.
Pregnant persons are eligible for and can receive a COVID-19 vaccine. A conversation between the patient and their clinical team may assist with decisions about the use of a COVID-19 vaccine, though a conversation with a healthcare provider is not required before vaccination. When making a decision, pregnant people and their healthcare providers should consider the level of COVID-19 community transmission, the patient’s personal risk of contracting COVID-19, the increased risks of severe COVID-19 to the patient and potential risks to the fetus, the known and potential benefits of vaccination, efficacy of the vaccine, side effects of the vaccine, and the limited but growing data about the safety of the vaccine during pregnancy. COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines may now be administered without regard to timing; for additional information on coadministration of COVID-19 vaccines and other recommended vaccines see Coadministration with other vaccines. Pregnant people who choose to receive COVID-19 vaccine are encouraged to enroll in v-safe.
Side effects can occur with COVID-19 vaccine use in pregnant people, similar to those expected among non-pregnant people. Acetaminophen can be offered as an option for pregnant people experiencing fever (which has been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes) or other post-vaccination symptoms.
There is no recommendation for routine pregnancy testing before receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine. Those who are trying to become pregnant do not need to avoid pregnancy after COVID-19 vaccination. There is no evidence that any of the COVID-19 vaccines affect future fertility.
Lactating people
There are no data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in lactating people or the effects of COVID-19 vaccines on the breastfed infant or milk production or excretion. However, the FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines (i.e., mRNA vaccines and a non-replicating viral vector vaccine) cannot cause infection in either the mother or the infant. Therefore, lactating people can receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
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