Friday, October 3, 2025

RFK Jr. on COVID boosters for pregnant women

Must read

Introduction to the Debate

By Jackie Fortiér, Kaiser Health News

You’re pregnant, healthy and hearing mixed messages: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is not a scientist or doctor, says you don’t need the COVID vaccine, but experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Protection still put you in a high-risk group of people who ought to receive boosters. The science is on the side of the shots.

Understanding the Risks

Pregnant women who contracted COVID-19 were more likely to become severely ill and to be hospitalized than non-pregnant women of the same age and demographics, especially early in the COVID pandemic.

A meta-analysis of 435 studies found that pregnant and recently pregnant women who were infected with the virus that causes COVID were more likely to end up in intensive care units, be on invasive ventilation, and die than women who weren’t pregnant but had a similar health profile. This was before COVID vaccines were available.

Expert Insights

Neil Silverman, a professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology and the director of the Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said he still sees more bad outcomes in pregnant patients who have COVID. The risk of severe COVID fluctuated as new variants arose and vaccinations became available, Silverman said, but the threat is still meaningful. “No matter what the politics say, the science is the science, and we know that, objectively, pregnant patients are at substantially increased risk of having complications,” Silverman said.

The Science Behind the Risks

There’s still much unknown about how COVID affects a pregnant person. The physiological relationship between COVID infections and mothers and fetuses at different stages of a pregnancy is complex, said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan.

The increased risk to pregnant patients comes in part because pregnancy changes the immune system, Rasmussen said.

“There is natural immune suppression so that the mother’s body doesn’t attack the developing fetus,” Rasmussen said. “While the mother does still have a functioning immune system, it’s not functioning at full capacity.”

Complications and Risks

Pregnant patients are more likely to get sick and have a harder time fighting off any infection as a result.

In addition to changing how the immune system works, being pregnant also makes women five times as likely to have blood clots. That risk is increased if they contract COVID, said Sallie Permar, chair of pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine.

The virus that causes COVID can affect the vascular endothelium — specialized cells that line blood vessels and help with blood flow, Rasmussen said. In a healthy person, the endothelium helps prevent blood clots by producing chemicals that tweak the vascular system to keep it running. In a person infected with the COVID virus, the balance is thrown off and the production of those molecules is disrupted, which research shows can lead to blood clots or other blood disorders.

Vaccination Benefits

There’s already strong evidence that both mRNA-based and non-mRNA COVID vaccines are safe for pregnant women.

Prahl co-authored a small, early study that found no adverse outcomes and showed antibody protection persisted for both the mother and the baby after birth. “What we learned very quickly is that pregnant individuals want answers and many of them want to be involved in research,” she said. Later studies, including one published in the journal Nature Medicine showing that getting a booster in pregnancy cut newborn hospitalizations in the first four months of life, backed up her team’s findings.

Conclusion

Despite the mixed messages, the scientific consensus is clear: COVID vaccines are beneficial for pregnant women, reducing the risk of severe illness and complications for both the mother and the fetus. As research continues to unveil the complexities of COVID-19 and pregnancy, one thing remains certain – vaccination is a crucial step in protecting the health and well-being of pregnant women and their newborns.

FAQs

Q: Are COVID vaccines safe for pregnant women?

A: Yes, there is strong evidence that both mRNA-based and non-mRNA COVID vaccines are safe for pregnant women.

Q: Do pregnant women need COVID boosters?

A: Yes, according to experts, pregnant women are at a higher risk of severe COVID-19 and should receive boosters to protect themselves and their newborns.

Q: Can COVID vaccines protect newborns?

A: Yes, pregnant women who get vaccinated pass that protection to their young babies, who can’t get their own shots until they are at least 6 months old.

- Advertisement -spot_img

More articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisement -spot_img

Latest article