Covid-19: Study provides further evidence that mRNA vaccines are safe in pregnancy

Pregnant women experienced lower rates of significant adverse events after vaccination with a covid-19 mRNA vaccine than a group of similarly aged women who were not pregnant, a Canadian study has concluded. The researchers found that 7.3% of pregnant women experienced health events requiring time off work or school or needing medical attention within a week of the second dose of an mRNA vaccine, which compared with 11.3% of vaccinated non-pregnant women. The study, published in Lancet Infectious Diseases, adds to the growing body of evidence that mRNA covid vaccines are safe during pregnancy. In January a US study of 46 079 pregnancies found that vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 was safe and did not increase the risk of preterm birth or of babies who were small for their gestational age. Vaccine uptake during pregnancy has increased over the course of the pandemic but rates are still below those in the general population