US CDC officially recommends Covid vaccines for pregnant women

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has now officially recommended that pregnant women get the COVID-19 vaccine. 

Director Dr Rochelle Walensky said in a White House press briefing that "CDC recommends that pregnant people receive the COVID-19 vaccine."

She said that vaccination surveillance systems showed "no safety concerns" for more than 35,000 women in their third trimester or their babies.

After an analysis of data on more than 35,000 women who have been vaccinated with either Pfizer's or Moderna's shots, the health body decided to issue the statement. 

It found no increase in risks of complications, premature delivery, miscarriage or other issues among women who got the shots. 

"Pregnant people experienced the same side effects as others following vaccination. We were also able to follow in detail more than 3,900 pregnant women. And over 800 of whom have completed their pregnancies. Importantly, no safety concerns were observed for people vaccinated in the third trimester or safety concerns for their babies," she said.

"We know that this is a deeply personal decision," she added, "and I encourage people to talk to their doctors and their primary care providers to determine what is best for them and their baby."

She further explained that because the initial vaccine trials did not include pregnant women, there had been limited data on possible problems. As a result, different health authorities and professional medical groups had offered cautious, or even conflicting, guidance.

In total, The United States had administered 228,661,408 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Sunday morning and distributed 290,692,005 doses.

(With inputs from agencies)