Can pregnant women receive the COVID-19 vaccine?

(ABC4) — COVID-19 vaccines recently began rolling out across the country, spreading hope for the end of a pandemic that has affected the world this year.

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However, questions about the vaccine remain. Pregnant women, often told to avoid specific vaccines, may be left wondering if they can receive it without causing harm to their unborn baby.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the answer is not so simple because the vaccine is new and no tests have yet been done on pregnant women.

However, pregnant people do have the choice to be vaccinated, the CDC says, and they should consult with their healthcare provider to make an informed decision.

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Risks to the pregnant person and fetus are still unknown. However, experts believe that the chances of the COVID-19 vaccine causing harm to pregnant people is low. Since the vaccines don’t contain a live virus, receiving it cannot give someone COVID-19. In addition, the vaccine doesn’t enter the nucleus of a cell, so it doesn’t interact with genetic material, the CDC says.

Pregnant people are very vulnerable to developing a severe case of COVID-19, according to the CDC’s website. Furthermore, pregnant women with COVID-19 might be more likely to experience preterm births.

Therefore, the CDC is leaving the decision up to pregnant women to make for themselves. However, they do recommend discussing things like the likelihood of pregnant women being exposed to COVID-19, what is known about the vaccine, and the risks of COVID-19 to both them and fetuses with a healthcare professional.

The CDC does not advise that pregnant women receive routine testing before receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, and women can safely try to become pregnant after receiving the vaccine.