New England Journal of Medicine now admit that there is no evidence that the vaccines are safe for pregnant women.

After Emergency Use Authorization was granted for the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines BNT162b2 (Pfizer–BioNTech) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna), persons at the highest risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19)–related illness and death were prioritized for vaccination.1 Among these were pregnant women, yet they had been excluded from initial vaccine trials. Pregnant women and their clinicians were left to weigh the documented risks of Covid-19 infection against the unknown safety risks of vaccination in deciding whether to receive the vaccine.

Before the vaccine rollout, multiple cohort studies documented that pregnant women were at greater risk than nonpregnant women for severe disease after Covid-19 infection, resulting in intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, and death.2,3 Pregnant women with coexisting illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity were recognized to be at even greater risk.4 Studies also showed an increased risk of pregnancy complications — including preterm birth, cesarean delivery, and preeclampsia — associated with Covid-19 infection during pregnancy.5 Therefore, clinicians relied on developmental and reproductive animal data from Moderna that showed no safety concerns, and there was no biologically plausible reason that the mRNA technology would be harmful in pregnancy. Pregnant women were counseled to consider the available evidence and make personal decisions about vaccination in the absence of human safety data.

www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejme2107070

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h/t Dan

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