The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) has recently updated its recommendations regarding vaccination for pregnant women. In April of this year, NIAC advised that pregnant women should be offered an mRNA COVID-19 vaccination between 14-36 weeks’ gestation following an individual benefit/risk discussion with their obstetric care giver.
Following a review of the most recent evidence and in the context of the Delta variant, NIAC has recommended that the previous term limits for receiving a vaccine by a pregnant woman should be removed and pregnant women and adolescents from 12 years and above should be offered an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine at any stage of pregnancy, following an individual benefit/risk discussion with their obstetric care giver. NIAC also point to a growing accumulation of evidence on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in this cohort, which indicate that the benefits of vaccination outweigh any known or potential risks of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.
NIAC have also recommended that there should be enhanced efforts to increase vaccine uptake in pregnant women, their partners and eligible household contacts, in order to protect both mother and baby from serious harm as a result of COVID-19.
