Safety of Covid-19 vaccination in pregnancy

Summary

In this project we study the safety of Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy. We will study pregnancy outcomes, short term effects on the women and fetus, and potential effects in children of mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy.

It is difficult to predict how the current COVID-19 pandemic will continue to progress. Mutations continuously alter the virus’ ability to spread and potentially the severity of infections. The available evidence points to increased risk of severe disease, complications and hospitalizations in pregnant women with COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 infection during pregnancy is also associated with increased risk of a range of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Vaccination during pregnancy protect pregnant women from COVID-19 infections. As IgG antibodies are actively transferred through the placenta to the fetus, it is also likely that maternal vaccinations during pregnancy protect infants from COVID-19 infection the first months of life.

The current COVID-19 vaccines were not been tested in pregnant women, and thus, safety data and effectiveness data of these vaccines during pregnancy is still limited. It is difficult for pregnant women and care-givers to make decisions about COVID-19 vaccination and follow-up studies of vaccinations during pregnancy are important to support decisions. New evidence regarding vaccine safety and effectiveness is crucial for keeping the population’s trust and adherence to vaccine programs.  

Very few countries can address population risks related to safety of vaccination in pregnancy. The robust population-based Norwegian registries provide a unique opportunity. Our international team has broad expertise in using population-based data to study infections and vaccinations in pregnancy.

Vaccinations are still recommended, and pregnant women are recommended vaccine. We will provide new and crucial knowledge for public health management, clinical practice and our results will be useful for the scientific community on further research needs.