Higher percentages of women of childbearing age (18-49) do not think vaccination against COVID-19 and influenza during pregnancy is safe, when compared with other populations, according to a report from the University of Pennsylvania. The analysis included data from 10 waves of a nationally representative survey of 1,657 US adults. About one-half of women of childbearing age (53%) knew the seasonal influenza vaccine was safe for pregnant women, while 17% of women of childbearing age incorrectly thought that was false. Doubts about influenza vaccine safety for pregnant women were higher for women of childbearing age (17%) than for women aged 50 and older (4%) or adult men (9%). Results were even more pronounced with the COVID-19 vaccine, with 42% of childbearing-age women knowing the COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy was safe and effective, but 31% saying it was not. Again, doubts in childbearing-age women were higher (31%) than doubts of older women (15%) or adult men (19%). “Because the COVID-19 and [influenza] vaccines help protect both those who are pregnant and their infants, dispatching misconceptions about them should be a public health priority,” Kathleen Hall Jamieson, PhD, said in a statement.
