Key Takeaways

• The FDA authorized two vaccines for pregnant and lactating women in December 2020.
• As of July 2021, 23% of pregnant women in the US had received the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Currently, 31% of pregnant and lactating women have received FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines.

Introduction

• As of February 2021, only 10,000 pregnant women received the COVID-19 vaccine. Although the FDA had authorized two vaccines for pregnant and lactating women in December 2020, there was still a lot to learn regarding its safety. As more data was released, COVID-19 vaccinations for pregnant and lactating women in the US has increased steadily from 23% in July 2021 to 31% by the end of October. The report below provides the date of FDA authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant and lactating women. It also provides the most recent vaccination statistics for pregnant and lactating women in the US.

FDA Authorization & Approval

• The FDA announced emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in December 2020.
• Further, the FDA indicated that pregnant and lactating women could receive the vaccine after consulting with their medical provider. However, the organization did not provide direct recommendations due to a lack of research data.
• On April 23, 2021, the Centers for Diseases Control & Prevention (CDC) recommended that pregnant women receive an FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccine.
• The CDC provided this recommendation based on data from 35,000 pregnant women and their babies, tracked via CDC and FDA monitoring systems.
• Subsequently, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommended FDA-authorized vaccines to all pregnant and lactating women.
• The FDA approved the first COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer) on August 23, 2021. However, the vaccine remained under the EUA.

Vaccination Timeline for Pregnant/Lactating Women in the US

• As of February 2021, 10,000 pregnant women had received the COVID-19 vaccine.
• As of July 2021, 23% of pregnant women in the US had received the COVID-19 vaccine.
• By the end of August, over 200,000 pregnant women had received COVID-19 vaccination (either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines).
• The latest report released on October 31, 2021, revealed that 31% of pregnant women in the US received complete doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Research Strategy