Vaccination against COVID-19 during Pregnancy and Lactation : An Overview

Abstract

Pandemic of SARS2- COVID 19 has caused disastrous impact globally in terms of sickness, deaths, and overburden on heath infrastructure, employment, economy and psychological health. All countries are affected, to greater or lesser degree; be it from developed, developing or under-developed region. Pregnancy has been identified as one of the risk factor for severe COVID 19 illness by CDC. About two-thirds of women who test positive for COVID 19 have no symptoms. But the data suggest that symptomatic pregnant patient with COVID 19 are at increased risk of more severe illness as well as have increased risk for ICU admission, ventilator support and deaths in comparison to their symptomatic non-pregnant peers Pregnant patients with co-morbidities such as obesity and diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and asthma are further at higher risk of getting serious illness .Pregnant woman’s Age above 35 years and pregnancy above 28 weeks makes women more at risk of severe COVID illness. Stillbirths and pre-term births are twice high in pregnant women with COVID -19 sickness as compared to pregnant women without COVID-19 infection. Ethnicity has also been found to affect the severity of COVID 19 illness. It has been found that Black and Hispanic pregnant women had disproportionately higher rates of COVID-19 infection and death Further risk of ICU admission were higher in pregnant Asian, and Native Hawaiian /Pacific Islander women.