The US obstetrician and gynecologist reaffirmed their support for Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy on Friday, becoming the second leading professional association to break away from the current US center for disease control and prevention recommendations this week.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently removed its recommendation that pregnant and breastfeeding individuals will receive an updated Covid-19 vaccine, but ACOG recommendations have not changed,” according to the updated Practice Advisory. “Obstetrics and Gynecology College continues to recommend using the latest Covid-19 vaccines in pregnant and pregnant, and breastfeeding individuals who are recently pregnant.”
In May, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be one of the recommended vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children on the CDC vaccination schedule. The sudden decision circumvented the usual government process for vaccine evaluation and recommendations, and Kennedy provided no scientific evidence to justify changes to the recommendations.
The latest recommendation from the ACOG states that “all clinicians need to provide strong recommendations for the latest Covid-19 vaccination for pregnant and breastfeeding patients.” Vaccinations can occur in any gestational period during the middle of pregnancy, with an emphasis on “the earliest opportunity to maximize maternal and fetal health” during pregnancy, and can be delivered simultaneously with other vaccines that are recommended during pregnancy, including influenza and respiratory integrative virus (RSV).
Dozens of references in ACOG advice, including multiple CDC sources, highlight the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccinations during pregnancy, as well as the increased risks pregnant women and infants face from Covid-19 infection.
On Tuesday, the American Academy of Pediatrics released updated vaccine recommendations with explicit support for COVID-19 vaccines for children, and the CDC’s advisory committee on vaccination practices, a direct criticism of the Federal Vaccine Advisory Committee, consists of “individuals with a history of expanding vaccination misinformation.”
There was also tension between the ACOG and those promoting federal health policy.
The organization said it has not been resilient to accept federal funds due to recent changes that “have a significant impact on the ACOG’s program goals, policy position and ability to provide timely and evidence-based guidance and recommendations for care.”
The ACOG also announced in July that it was partnering with an independent group of experts called the Vaccine Integrity Project to develop maternal vaccination guidance in the absence of “annual review of historically robust government-led data and subsequent evidence-based recommendations.”
“A meeting of the newly restructured Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) demonstrated that the committee failed to follow a long-standing tradition of robust and unbiased review of reputable scientific evidence by medical and public health experts.” “The data presented by ACIP confirms why ACOG continues to recommend safe and effective maternal vaccinations. If ACIP responds to data presented in a medical evidence and public health-oriented way, government recommendations for COVID-19 vaccinations during pregnancy will be restored, and support for maternal vaccination will remain unshakable.”
After a sudden federal change in the Covid-19 vaccination schedule, dozens of health and healthcare institutions, including ACOG and AAP, have sought on vaccine access and insurance coverage in open letters.
Pregnancy remains listed on the CDC website as a risk factor for severe illness from Covid-19, with multiple pieces of evidence providing a “conclusive increase in risk.”
Pregnant women with Covid-19 are more likely to need care in an ICU or ventilator, the medical institution’s letter states, saying they are at higher risk for complications such as caesarean section, pre-lamps, adolescent lamps, and clots. Infants born after Covid-19 infection are also facing an increased risk.
“It is important that pregnant women continue to have access to this preventative tool, so they can protect themselves and their younger infants.
The HHS did not respond directly to the ACOG recommendations or the evidence behind it. Instead, a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement that “HHS and the CDC continue to be official resources for guidance.”
