CDC: COVID-19 vaccines don’t increase risk of miscarriage, birth defects

Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outlined new data on Wednesday that found that coronavirus vaccines do not increase the risk of miscarriage or birth defects.
Christine Olson, a CDC medical officer, said the agency tracked 1,613 pregnant women who were inoculated against COVID-19 and who delivered 1,623 live-born infants — including 42 twins.
Thirty percent of the women were vaccinated in the second trimester, and 70 percent received their shots in the third trimester.
Of the babies born, 99 were preterm, 45 were small for their gestational age and 158 were admitted to the newborn ICU for intensive care. There were no reports of neonatal or infant deaths.
Forty-five of the infants were born with birth defects. The types of birth defects reported, however, “were consistent with data from birth defects surveillance in the United States,” according to the agency.
Additionally, there were no reports of unusual types or clusters of birth defects.
Olson told the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices during Wednesday’s meeting that the current data shows there is no evidence of an increase in miscarriage rates or negative birth outcomes because of the vaccine.
“We reviewed the currently available registry data and found no evidence of an increase in spontaneous abortion rates, and no evidence of any disproportionate negative infant birth outcomes,” Olson said, according to CNBC.
The participants were part of the CDC’s v-safe pregnancy registry, which as of Sept. 13 had 5,096 people enrolled.
The new findings bolster previous statements from the CDC recommending that people who are pregnant get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The agency last month said the “COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people aged 12 years and older, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future.”
Before that, the agency had said pregnant people were “eligible” for the vaccine, and suggested they have a conversation with their health care provider.
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