According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, certain groups like health care personnel and other frontline essential workers should be offered vaccination during the first months of vaccine rollout. People who are pregnant and part of a group recommended to receive the COVID-19 vaccine may choose to be vaccinated, the agency stated. If they have questions about getting vaccinated, a discussion with a healthcare provider might help them make an informed decision. Based on how mRNA vaccines work, experts believe they are unlikely to pose a specific risk for people who are pregnant, the CDC stated. However, the actual risks of mRNA vaccines to the pregnant person and her fetus are unknown because these vaccines have not been studied in pregnant women.
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Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) study published in November found that they, too, are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, though less so than those in other high-risk groups. The study found that pregnant people are more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), receive invasive ventilation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (the use of an artificial lung located outside the body that puts oxygen into the blood), and are at increased risk of death compared to non-pregnant people. The CDC has also warned that pregnant people with COVID-19 might be at increased risk for other adverse outcomes, such as preterm birth.