UPMC Magee Launches Region’s Only COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics for Pregnant Women

UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital has launched one of the country’s only COVID-19 vaccine clinics solely for pregnant women.

Pregnancy is a Phase 1A high-risk condition according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Evidence from more than a year of studying COVID-19 has proven that pregnant women who contract the virus are more likely to be hospitalized and more likely to need intensive care and/or mechanical ventilation if they are hospitalized. 

There is no evidence that the side effects of the vaccines, which are generally mild and last only a couple of days, have any effect on the mother or her unborn/breastfeeding baby. 

While pregnant women were not specifically included in COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, researchers and doctors know how the vaccines work, and their mechanisms of action are considered safe for mothers and babies. More than 45,000 pregnant women across the United States have chosen to receive the COVID-19 vaccines, and of that group, there has been no indication or increased chance of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including miscarriage, low birth weight, or any other maternal or infant health problems.