By HealthDay Reporter Amy Norton
Since the emergence of the Delta variation, an increase in severe COVID-19 among pregnant women — almost entirely uninfected — has been observed in one Texas hospital.
10% to 15% of pregnant patients who tested positive for COVID-19 in late August and early September required to be hospitalized for serious illness, according to research from the Dallas hospital.
The percentage was more than twice what it was a year prior.
Lead researcher Dr. Emily Adhikari, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, said, “We experienced an onslaught of serious disease that occurred swiftly.”
Her researchers discovered that all but one of those hospitalized patients lacked vaccinations.
Following a warning from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19 , the results were recently published online in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology .
According to the alert, which was released on September 29, more over 22,000 pregnant individuals were hospitalized in the US for COVID-19 during the pandemic, and 161 of them passed away. In August alone, 22 of those people passed away, the most in a single month throughout the pandemic.
Currently, little about one-third of American pregnant women get immunized. For “immediate action,” the CDC urged raising that figure.
The findings of Adhikari’s team, according to her, support the CDC’s worries.
She said, “This is genuine.
Dr. Aaron Glatt, an expert in infectious diseases who was not associated with the study, said the results provide crucial information.
Clearly, getting vaccinated is wise, according to Glatt, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai Hospital Nassau in Oceanside, New York, and a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
“You’re at heightened danger of becoming extremely ill if you develop COVID-19 while pregnant,” he said.
The CDC reports that pregnant COVID-19 patients are known to be at increased risk of requiring hospitalization, intensive care, ventilators, or other specialized equipment to assist them breathe. This was true prior to the development of Delta.
Even so, many expectant mothers are still reluctant to accept the vaccine .
There wasn’t much concrete information available to them at the start of the vaccine program. But that is no longer the case, as evidenced by studies that have followed both vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant women and were deemed “reassuring” by Kirstie Perrotta, a MotherToBaby information specialist.
The Organization of Teratology Information Specialists, a group of specialists in environmental exposures, and birth defects jointly provide MotherToBaby as a free service. It provides factual information about the security of prescription drugs, COVID-19 0, and other COVID-19 1 exposures.
The most often asked question at the moment is about COVID vaccine, according to Perrotta.
She said there is no indication COVID-19 vaccine increases the risk of COVID-19 2 complications such COVID-19 3, COVID-19 4, or preterm birth based on the studies conducted so far.
Perrotta added that there is no proof of effects on COVID-19 5, which is one of the concerns people have.
Another widespread concern is if immunizations could have long-term impacts on the developing child. There are no data on that, but Perrotta stated that specialists think such hazards are highly improbable.
She pointed out that the COVID-19 6 do not cross the placenta. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the COVID-19 immunization would be harmful to COVID-19 9 based on what is known about other COVID-19 7 administered during COVID-19 1, such as the COVID-19 8.
