Doctors are now recommending pregnant women get vaccinated

Now that the FDA has approved the Pfizer vaccine, OB-GYNs are recommending expecting mothers get vaccinated.

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Doctors and medical professionals are recommending pregnant women to get vaccinated.

Women and expecting mothers have been asking the same question across the country – should they get vaccinated?

As COVID cases continue to rise in Mississippi, the decision is becoming more crucial.

Now that the FDA has approved the Pfizer vaccine, OB-GYNs are recommending expecting mothers get vaccinated

In just 4 months, the Mississippi State Department of Health has reported 72 fetal deaths related to the coronavirus. These deaths are why physicians like Dr. Douglas Michael Turner are recommending the vaccine to their patients.

“A year ago, we weren’t seeing this. I mean, our pregnant patients, honestly, we didn’t have many that got infected with COVID and when they did get infected, they were having very mild symptoms. The delta variant is a completely different, almost like a different virus in the way it affects people. But, our patients are getting infected at a much higher rate and they’re getting very very sick compared to the way they were before,” Dr. Turner said.

According to Dr. Turner, Columbus alone has had 3 mothers, who were unvaccinated, experience a fetal death due to COVID.

During an interview, White House Vaccination Coordinator Bechara Choucair said this is the time when women should talk to their doctor about the vaccine.

“It’s always important for pregnant women to talk to their doctor about getting vaccinated. I would defer on a case-by-case basis. The message from the CDC is clear if you’re pregnant, it’s really important you get vaccinated to protect yourself and to protect your baby,” Choucair said.

Doctor Turner said physicians have seen the vaccine work in pregnant women for over a year and expecting mothers should consider the benefits the vaccine has for both them and their baby.

“They’ve done some studies and what they found is that people that acquired COVID a year ago and developed antibodies from the infections. When you compare the antibody level in those patients and you compare them to people who received Pfizer or modern vaccines, that antibody levels are much higher in vaccinated patients,” Dr. Turner said.

According to the CDC, 147 pregnant women have died in the US because of COVID and Choucair said the vaccine can help that number from getting bigger.

“The stories that we’re hearing about pregnant women ending up in the hospital in the ICU, losing their baby or dieing are so unfortunate at a time we know we can prevent those hospitalizations, prevent those deaths through the effective a safe vaccines that we have,” Choucair said.

Dr. Turner added that mothers can give antibodies against the delta variant to their babies by getting vaccinated and/or breastfeeding post-partum.