Despite Higher Covid Risk, Pregnant Women Are Now Ineligible for Vaccine

Pregnant women are severely immunocompromised during gestation, but in the US they will no longer be eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last week that the Covid-19 vaccine will no longer be among the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended vaccines for pregnant women, and healthy children and adults under the age of 65.

Kennedy made the announcement in a one-minute video on X/Twitter, ahead of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is scheduled to meet June 25-27. Previous administrations have waited for ACIP to announce best practices before sending out their own recommendations.The HHS secretary, who has come under fire for his anti-vaccine stance, said there was no clinical data to support the need for booster vaccines for healthy pregnant women and children.

‘Americans Are Saying No’

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary has defended the statement, noting that fewer people are getting the Covid-19 vaccine. “For 88% of American kids, their parents have said no to the COVID shot last season. So the vast majority of Americans are saying no. Maybe they want to see some clinical data as well. Maybe they have concerns about the safety,” he stated June 1 on the CBS news program Face the Nation.

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A new, more contagious variant of Covid, NB.1.8.1, is currently making the rounds in Asia, and is expected to contribute to a surge of Covid infections this summer in the US.

‘Worrisome Recommendations’

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, said Kennedy’s recommendations were worrisome. “Pregnant people are relatively immunocompromised. And the reason why they’re immunocompromised is because the immune system doesn’t want to recognize the growing fetus too much. So that puts them at risk for lots of other infections in general, including serious COVID,” he said.

Chin-Hong said he was also concerned about the recommendations regarding young children, specifically those under 6 months. “The reason why we see serious disease in that group is because the immune system is not mature enough,” he said at an American Community Media news briefing May 30. “For those under six months, they rely on the antibodies going across the placenta from the mom. And by eliminating the vaccine, even in healthy pregnant people, you wouldn’t be able to protect that group easily.”

Last year, there were 150 pediatric deaths from Covid-19. Kennedy has recommended Covid-19 boosters only for those over 65, and those who are very sick or have co-morbidities. This leaves out healthcare workers, another critical group, noted Chin-Hong.

Co-Morbidities and Confusion

Boosters are essential for everyone, stated Chin-Hong. “We know from multiple studies that not having a recent vaccine is a risk factor for getting hospitalized and dying, even if you might have gotten vaccines earlier.”

About 1/3 of Americans will be eligible for a vaccine booster because they have co-morbidities, including a high BMI, chronic heart or lung disease, diabetes, or even certain mental health conditions. But the recommendations from Kennedy are expected to lead to a lot of confusion in the general population as to who is still eligible.

“I’m worried that confusion will lead to just even lower uptake in the fall because people will be worried that they will be charged with a bill,” said Chin-Hong. He recommended getting a booster right away, while folks can still get appointments, before the new guidelines set in.