The Safety of Maternal Influenza Vaccination and Infant Health Outcomes.

Abstract

Influenza vaccination during pregnancy has been recommended for more than 70 years in the United States because of the high risk of complications resulting in hospitalization and mortality in pregnant women who acquire seasonal or pandemic influenza infection, particularly in the third trimester of pregnancy and during the postpartum period.1,2 Concerns regarding the safety of maternal immunization continue to be an important barrier to wide implementation and high rates of coverage for vaccines currently recommended for pregnant women, including influenza and pertussis vaccines.3 In this issue of Pediatrics, Foo et al4 report on their evaluation of potential adverse effects on long-term health outcomes for infants who were exposed to maternal influenza vaccination while in utero. Many studies conducted before, during, and after the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic consistently have shown that the administration of inactivated influenza vaccines during pregnancy is safe for the mother and is not associated with an increased risk of fetal or neonatal adverse outcomes such as stillbirth, preterm birth, low birth weight, or congenital anomalies.5,6 The potential long-term effects of fetal exposure to maternal vaccines are not often evaluated, as evidenced by the … Address correspondence to Flor M. Munoz, MD, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, 1102 Bates Ave, Suite 1150, Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: florm{at}bcm.edu