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Yesterday was a historic day in Ireland with first doses of COVID vaccine administered
@Rheum2improve, one of our most vocal and practical healthcare advocates, made the very brave decision to publicise her own vaccination while pregnant - an informed decision
@Rheum2improve, one of our most vocal and practical healthcare advocates, made the very brave decision to publicise her own vaccination while pregnant - an informed decision
There is a long and difficult history of exclusion of pregnant and lactating women from trials of new medications due to perceived risks. Chemotherapy has been delayed and babies delivered prematurely until recent large collaborative studies demonstrated this was unnecessary
WRT to vaccination, we have been vaccinating against the flu in pregnancy for over 60 years and advise that all women receive one or two flu vaccines in pregnancy depending on time of year and also a whooping cough vaccine - both of which are known to be safe.
Current Flu vaccines protect protect against 4 different strains and consist of inactivated virus, aimed at protecting the mother against flu, the whooping cough (pertusis) vaccine (a recombinant acellular vaccine) is to protect newborns against whooping cough
Covid vaccines use novel technology (mRNA) and initial safety data are very encouraging. They have not been specifically tested in pregnant women, however this does not mean that they should be excluded from vaccination programs
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
The CDC and others have deemed pregnancy a high risk condition for COVID - like cancer, obesity and diabetes - although the vast majority of those in vaccine trials did not have these conditions they are no calls that those with these conditions be excluded from vaccine programs
HSE guidance is that pregnant women can make an informed decision on vaccination https://www2.hse.ie/screening-and-vaccinations/covid-19-vaccine/ which is in line with American guidelines, Germany have placed pregnant women in second highest priority group, again demonstrating a common sense approach
Vaccine uptake in Irish pregnant women is low 50-60% https://tinyurl.com/yauyzxaj we now have a great opportunity to improve education re vaccinations in pregnancy.
Given the lack of safety evidence for COVID vaccines we need to support those women who decide against vaccination too
Given the lack of safety evidence for COVID vaccines we need to support those women who decide against vaccination too
The single greatest influence on vaccine uptake is provider recommendation, therefore @Rheum2improve deserves massive credit and support for her brave stance - which is likely to empower many more Irish women to make informed decisions on vaccination
