FRIDAY, June 18, 2021 (HealthDay News) — COVID-19 vaccination coverage is low among pregnant women in the United States, according to research published in the June 18 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Hilda Razzaghi, Ph.D., from the CDC COVID-19 Response Team, and colleagues analyzed data from the Vaccine Safety Datalink to examine receipt of one or more doses of any COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy among 135,968 women during Dec. 14, 2020, to May 8, 2021.
The researchers found that 16.3 percent of the pregnant women had received one or more vaccine doses during pregnancy. Of these, 5.3 and 11.1 percent had initiated (receipt of first dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccination series) and completed vaccination during pregnancy, respectively. Women aged 35 to 49 years had the highest receipt of one or more doses of COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy (22.7 percent), while the lowest receipt was seen among those aged 18 to 24 years (5.5 percent). Vaccine receipt was higher among non-Hispanic Asian and non-Hispanic White women than among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black women (24.7 and 19.7 versus 11.9 and 6.0 percent, respectively). Among all racial and ethnic groups, there was an increase seen in vaccination over the analytic period, likely due to increased eligibility and availability of vaccine over time.
“Although low, COVID-19 vaccination coverage among pregnant women is expected to increase as vaccine availability and access improve, and as more safety data become available,” the authors write.
One author is employed by Leidos Inc.
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