The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday officially recommended that people who are pregnant be vaccinated against COVID-19, updating and strengthening previous guidance due to new evidence.
“COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people aged 12 years and older, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future,” CDC said.
The agency’s previous guidance said pregnant people were “eligible” and merely suggested a conversation with their health care provider.
According to the CDC, evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy has been growing, and the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy.
“The vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face the highly transmissible Delta variant and see severe outcomes from COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant people,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.
Concerns about miscarriages due to receiving the mRNA vaccines early in pregnancy were not borne out by the data, CDC said. In people vaccinated before 20 weeks of pregnancy, miscarriage rates were similar to the expected rate generally, the agency said.
Pregnant and recently pregnant people are more likely to get severely ill with COVID-19 compared with non-pregnant people, the agency said.
Additionally, pregnant people with COVID-19 are at increased risk of preterm birth and might be at increased risk of other adverse pregnancy outcomes, compared with pregnant people without COVID-19.
The update comes as the nation sees a significant spike in COVID-19 infections due to the delta variant, mostly among the unvaccinated.
Currently, only about 23 percent of people who are pregnant have received at least one shot of a vaccine.
The agency said its recommendation was for all three currently authorized vaccines.
The recommendation from CDC follows an endorsement from two of the nation’s leading women’s health organizations, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM).
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NZ borders to remain closed to keep Covid out
New Zealand’s elimination strategy to tackle coronavirus means borders will remain closed until at least the end of the year, says the country’s prime minister. According to Jacinda Ardern, it’s the best way to keep Covid-19 out and the economy open. With a population of just under five million New Zealand – seen as one of the most successful countries to control the virus – has only recorded 26 deaths. It’s aiming to vaccinate everyone by the end of the year with hopes to reopen borders in 2022.
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California mandates COVID-19 vaccines or testing for all teachers, staff
California on Wednesday became the first state to require all teachers and staff in every school district be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to regular testing.
Under the new requirement, all staff – teachers, custodial staff, bus drivers and anyone else who works in schools – will need to submit proof of vaccination or submit to weekly testing, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said at a news conference at an elementary school in Oakland.
The order comes as California, like the rest of the country, has seen a rise in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations this summer as the delta variant took hold.
“We think this is a sustainable way of keeping schools open,” Newsom said. “And to address the No. 1 anxiety that parents like myself have – I have four young children – and that is knowing that the schools are doing everything in their power to keep their kids healthy.”
Newsom noted the state was one of the first to mandate masks for all teacher and students. Until the announcement Wednesday, he had left the decision of vaccines up to individual districts.
Some school districts had already announced a vaccine requirement, including Long Beach, Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco.
A similar mandate from Newsom that took effect last week requires state employees and workers in health care and high-risk congregate settings to provide proof of vaccination or submit to weekly coronavirus testing.
An order from the state Department of Health last week mandated all workers in health care settings be fully inoculated or receive their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine by Sept. 30 — with no option of being submitted to weekly virus testing.
Newsom said the order for school staff did not constitute an official mandate, because there is also an option for submitting a negative test instead.
Newsom indicated teachers and staff would not be fired for failing to comply with rule.
“It’s the same way all the rules and regulations within the school system are enforced … we don’t distinguish this versus all the other rules and requirements,” Newsom said. “We think we have enlightened leaders, people who recognize what’s at stake … and we are confident we’ll see compliance.”
Vaccine requirements have been a thorny issue among some labor unions, but the California Teachers Association (CTA) in a statement said it fully supports the move.
“Educators want to be in classrooms with their students, and the best way to make sure that happens is for everyone who is medically eligible to be vaccinated, with robust testing and multi-tiered safety measures,” CTA President E. Toby Boyd said in a statement. “Today’s announcement is an appropriate next step to ensure the safety of our school communities and to protect our youngest learners under 12 who are not yet vaccine eligible from this highly contagious Delta variant.”
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