CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The CDC issued an urgent alert to pregnant people, strongly recommending they get vaccinated. Nationwide, only one in three expectant mothers have gotten the shots but experts say the chances of needing an ICU bed or a ventilator are triple that of someone who is not pregnant.
Dr. Colleen Cardella, an OBGYN with Novant Health, said it’s extremely important pregnant people do their research and speak with the doctor.
“It is a really scary time to be pregnant right now. It is a very isolating time to be pregnant right now,” Cardella said.
According to the CDC a quarter of a million COVID-19 cases have been reported leading to 22,000 hospitalizations and 161 deaths. Cardella believes that number is likely higher.
The highest number of COVID-19 related deaths in pregnant people in a single month of the pandemic was reported in August 2021, when 22 people died.
There's an excitement and joy that comes with new life and beginnings but pregnancy in the pandemic has been different. That’s why Jen Reid wanted to be proactive.
“In April, as soon as I could get vaccinated, I did, knowing we were trying to get pregnant,” Reid said.
She and her husband had COVID-19 in December 2020, before vaccines were available.
“I was really, really sick. I was in the ER several times. I had COVID pneumonia,” Reid said. “So, I knew without the vaccine that could happen again and I knew if I was pregnant and that happened again that would be very bad."
The CDC is now coming out with its strongest guidance yet for pregnant people, urging them to get the shot. Vaccination rates nationwide are low, at 31% of pregnant people, and more are having severe outcomes. A pregnant person’s chance of dying from COVID-19 is 70% higher than someone who is not pregnant, and the baby is at risk too.
“You want to feel like you're doing everything in the best interest for your baby," Cardella said. "We now have lots of data to show this is safe and this is in the best interest of you and your baby."
Cardella said symptomatic COVID-19 can also have impacts on the fetus. There’s a significant increase in the chances of c-section, pre-term birth, preeclampsia, stillbirth and NICU admissions for an expectant mother with COVID-19.
The CDC has changed its guidance on pregnant people getting vaccinated throughout the pandemic and misinformation about the vaccine and infertility spread.
“There’s actually been over 40 published studies, peer-reviewed, that have shown no impact on the ability to conceive or carry a pregnancy,” Cardella said.
But studies do show there are positive impacts on the fetus after vaccination. They’ll be born with protective antibodies.
"The vaccine itself cannot cross the placenta," Cardella said. "But what the vaccine does is spur your immune system to make protective antibodies that can cross that placenta so then your baby when born, and we have evidence to show this, has those protective antibodies, which is huge."
It gives newborns protection that children under 12 are not currently eligible for.
Cardella said there are pregnant people in the Charlotte area battling COVID-19 in the ICU or on a ventilator. She said the choice to get vaccinated one that allows for a safer start to a new life for the whole family.
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.