Thought of the Day - December 10 - COVID and Pregnancy

Was going to do a Thought of the Day concerning the latest in the Vaccine Wars, but Bonnie Henry did an admirable job in her address yesterday (please make sure to look it up if you did not hear - https://youtu.be/U20QMlao718 ).

A brief summary:

• it is great that the vaccines are coming on-line and are being approved: Pfizer in the UK last week and yesterday here in Canada, Moderna to come shortly;

• supply across vaccine candidates will be limited until Q2 2021 at the earliest so we are prioritizing health-care worker in care-homes, medical workers, first-responders, Indigenous communities, shelter residents, teachers, food processing workers and the aged (80+). It will not be available for most until late Q3;

• the cold-train will be an issue for the Pfizer vaccine, but other vaccines are coming online. These other vaccines may cover folk that were not part of current Pfizer and Moderna test groups (the young, those with immune deficiency, pregnant women etc.);

• we really have no clue at this point about immunity (and neither do the suppliers), but these vaccines do save lives by reducing the severity of COVID-19.

As noted Pfizer and Moderna did not test on pregnant women, while this may have been because mRNA vaccines are novel so there is no precedent to help assess potential risk, it is more likely that the lead times required to confidently say there are no side effects for a mother or newborn is long, and being first to market was job 1.

A growing number of studies suggest that while pregnant women do not seem to be at greater risk of catching COVID-19, infection is linked to a higher rate or preterm births; elevating the probability to as much as 25%. Moreover some newborns test positive for COVID-19 suggesting the virus may cross the placenta. Viruses, like Zika and chicken-pox/shingles, are known to harm fetal development, COVID-19 might well do the same. The risks are supposed to be the highest in the early pregnancy, when organs are first developing.

That said, while preterm births are common, most newborns have recovered well. However, as the corona virus is novel there is limited information as to whether more subtle developmental issues will manifest in the fullness of time. In addition, if mothers contract COVID shortly after childbirth it is very likely they will pass on the virus to their newborns who no longer have the full benefit of the mothers immune response.

Just one more reason for young people to take precautions and avoid the spread of COVID-19.

Cheers

Cliff