Vaccination for pregnant women in India

Pregnant women can now avail vaccination for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said. The ministry has also published guidelines for inoculating pregnant women.

Most infected pregnant women are asymptomatic and don’t need hospitalisation. But their health may deteriorate rapidly and that might affect the foetus too. High blood pressure, obesity, age over 35 years are COVID-19 risk factors for pregnant women.

Pregnant women are thus advised to get inoculated, say the guidelines. The World Health Organization already favours vaccination for pregnant women as benefits outweigh risks. But the Indian government had so far barred inoculation citing a lack of clinical trial data.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe for pregnant women and only have mild side effects. Symptomatic cases in pregnant and postpartum women increased by 28.7 per cent in the second wave. The case fatality rate among them rose to 5.7 per cent during the second wave, according to an Indian Council of Medical Research study.