On May 12, Georgian homeopath Tina Topuria published a post on her Facebook page, claiming that from December 2020 to February 2021, 13.9% of pregnant women suffered miscarriages after getting vaccinated. Based on these data, Topuria questions the recommendation on getting COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy.
The information spread by Tina Topuria is manipulative, because there is no increase in the frequency of miscarriages among vaccinated persons. In fact, about 25% of recognized pregnancies may end in a miscarriage.
According to preliminary study results published in Pharmacy Times, COVID-19 vaccines prevent maternal adverse outcomes and provide protection to their newborns. Preliminary study results showed no safety concerns among pregnant women that received Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that more than 100,000 pregnant women received COVID-19 vaccines. From December 14, 2020 to February 28, 2021, a total of 35,691 pregnant individuals reported to V-safe and VAERS. Injection-site pain was reported more frequently among pregnant persons than among nonpregnant women, whereas headache, myalgia, chills, and fever were reported less frequently. 86.1% of pregnancy resulted in a live birth and 13.9% – in a pregnancy loss. Adverse neonatal outcomes included preterm birth (in 9.4%) and small size for gestational age (in 3.2%). These data are identical to the results of the study carried out among pregnant women before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Revaz Bochorishvili responded to Topuria’s post via his Facebook page, slamming the post as disinformation. He said that irrespective of vaccination, about 25% of recognized pregnancies may end in a miscarriage. “These data on miscarriages do not differ from the data in unvaccinated women. Neither is any difference in terms of other parameters among vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant persons,” he writes.
In a White House press conference on April 23, 2021, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky discussed the positive safety findings of the study. Based on positive safety findings, CDC stressed benefits of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy.
“As such, CDC recommends that pregnant people receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We know that this is a deeply personal decision, and I encourage people to talk to their doctors or primary care providers to determine what is best for them and for their baby,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the use of COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States while pregnant or breastfeeding.
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