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Vaccination Programme

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 April 2021

Thursday, 22 April 2021

Ceisteanna (154)

Seán Sherlock

Ceist:

154. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the updated advice for pregnant women to receive the Covid-19 vaccination (details supplied). [20986/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). The committee's recommendations are based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practice in relation to immunisation. It makes recommendations on vaccination policy to my Department. The NIAC review all data relating to COVID-19 vaccines on a rolling basis.

Pregnant women are at a similar risk to non-pregnant women of contracting COVID-19 disease. Most pregnant women who are infected with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate symptoms, and the risk of passing COVID-19 virus to the baby is low.

However, pregnant women who become ill from COVID-19 are more likely to be admitted to hospital, to need care in an ICU, and to die when compared with non-pregnant women patients. Women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds may be more likely than other pregnant women to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19 disease.

Pregnant women who are healthcare workers or who have medical conditions which put them at high risk of severe disease are included in the respective priority groups. The priority for other pregnant women will be determined when more evidence is available.

Pregnant women who are between 14 weeks and 36 weeks of gestation may receive COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Pregnant women who meet the priority criteria for vaccination and their obstetric caregivers should engage in shared decision-making in advance of vaccination. Counselling should balance available data on vaccine safety, risks to pregnant women from SARS-CoV-2 infection, and a woman’s individual risk for infection and severe disease. Where the risk/benefit is favourable, the two doses should be given 28 days apart. The two dose schedule should be given between 14 and 36 completed weeks of gestation.

It is important to emphasise that vaccination is only one part of our response to the prevention of COVID-19 infection. People who are vaccinated need to continue with all the public health measures that have been proven to reduce the risk of infection, i.e., limiting our social contacts, physical distancing, wearing a mask, hand hygiene, cough etiquette and avoiding non-essential travel until a sufficiently large proportion of the population are immune.

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