From the oped by Carleigh Krubiner:
As several thousand people become newly infected each day with the novel coronavirus Covid-19, and some die of it, there are accelerated efforts to develop new coronavirus vaccines. The World Health Organization has activated its R&D Blueprint, new investments are in the pipeline, and multiple vaccine candidates are expected to advance to clinical trials.
But as the world rushes to develop new vaccines against Covid-19, there is a real risk that pregnant women and their babies will not be among those who are able to benefit from them.
Ensuring there’s a vaccine that can be offered to pregnant women is critical to health equity. While there are only limited data on how severe Covid-19 infection is in pregnancy, data from other coronaviruses suggest that pregnant women may face more severe disease, adverse obstetrical outcomes, and greater mortality from them. Development of coronavirus vaccines that pregnant women aren’t able to use would be not only a tragedy but a grave injustice.
