COVID-19 and pregnancy: Women regret not getting the vaccine
Associated PressPHENIX CITY, Ala. — Sometimes when she’s feeding her infant daughter, Amanda Harrison is overcome with emotion and has to wipe away tears of gratitude. Harrison said she will “nicely argue to the bitter end” that pregnant women get vaccinated “because it could literally save your life.” Since the pandemic began, health officials have reported more than 125,000 cases and at least 161 deaths of pregnant women from COVID-19 in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said a study there found the delta variant of COVID-19 is associated with increased rates of severe disease in pregnant women and increased rates of preterm birth. The shots didn’t have final approval from the Food and Drug Administration and pregnant women weren’t included in studies that led to emergency authorization, so initial guidance stopped short of fully recommending vaccination for them. “I get everything from, ‘Well, somebody told me that it may cause me to be infertile in the future’ to, ‘It may harm my baby,’” she said.