Pregnant and lactating women are able to be safely vaccinated for COVID-19, according to Genesis ob/gynecology providers Briana Barclay and Shannon Leveridge.

“While we don’t have vaccine data yet on these women, we do know a lot about other vaccines in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Tdap and influenza vaccines are currently strongly recommended during pregnancy and almost all vaccines are safe during lactation. Based upon how the current COVID-19 vaccines work, they should be very safe.

“The other thing to consider is that pregnant women who contract COVID-19 are at higher risk for more severe illness, including a higher chance of hospitalization. The risk of being admitted to an intensive care unit during the COVID-19 pandemic is three times higher for pregnant women. There is a 2.9 times higher risk of needing a ventilator and a 70 percent increased risk of dying compared to similar-aged women who are not pregnant.

“National organizations of OB/Gynecology all support giving the COVID-19 vaccine to pregnant and lactating women.

“Many pregnant and lactating doctors, midwives, and nurses at Genesis and The Group have already chosen to be vaccinated. We have no hesitation recommending COVID-19 vaccination to our patients.”

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Sean Leary Director of Digital Media

Sean Leary is an author, director, artist, musician, producer and entrepreneur who has been writing professionally since debuting at age 11 in the pages of the Comics Buyers Guide. An honors graduate of the University of Southern California masters program, he has written over 50 books including the best-sellers The Arimathean, Every Number is Lucky to Someone and We Are All Characters.