Examining thousands of women for incidence of preterm births, hospitalizations, birth defects and mortality, research says no difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated
10 February 2022
Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccines are completely safe for pregnant women’s fetuses, and were not associated with any harmful outcome to newborns, according to an Israeli study published Thursday.
The study examined 17,000 pregnant women who were vaccinated, as well as 7,000 who were not, between March and October of 2021, using data provided by Maccabi Healthcare Services, Israel’s largest HMO.
The researchers looked at preterm births, hospitalizations, birth defects, and infant mortality, and found no significant difference between the two groups in any area.
Infant mortality stood at 0.1% in both groups; preterm births were at 4.2% for babies whose mothers were vaccinated and 4.8% for those whose mothers were not; defects were 1.5% for those exposed to the vaccine and 2.1% for those not; and hospitalizations in newborns were at 5.1% for vaccinated mothers and 5.3% for unvaccinated.
The study showed the findings were also true in 2,000 newborns whose mothers were vaccinated in the first trimester — seen as the most sensitive period for fetuses.
The study was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.
Initial clinical trials for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine did not include pregnant or lactating women. Despite the lack of data, Israel’s Health Ministry advised last year that pregnant women get the coronavirus vaccine after a number of women expecting a baby fell seriously ill. Many nations’ health authorities also followed suit.
