As the CDC research shows few adverse effects, there’s still much to learn about pregnancy and COVID-19 vaccines.
Researchers from the CDC’s v-safe after vaccination health checker program testified at Friday’s FDA hearing that few women who received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have had any adverse effects during pregnancy.
There are 1,815 pregnant women enrolled in the pregnancy registry, according to the CDC. Of the 154 reports from pregnant women about experiencing adverse effects, 73 percent were not pregnancy-related– things like headache and fatigue which are common vaccine side effects.
Tampa pediatrician Dr. David Berger testified Friday too, sharing his insight that there’s little information about the effects, especially from ones that use DNA like Johnson & Johnson because of the urgency to get the vaccines on the market.
“I think the government and the manufacturers need to be more transparent because the less transparent, the more hesitancy that there’s going to be. The more factual information people have and just admitting there are things that we don’t know. This is what we know, this is what we don’t know. Our best efforts will be to find this information.”
Pfizer is starting a trial on safety and efficacy in pregnant women. Women in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mozambique, South Africa, Spain and the UK will be included. And, about 4,000 healthy pregnant women aged 18 and older will be enrolled.
