The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) still recommends that pregnant people get immunized routinely as they are considered at increased risk of infection and serious complications from COVID.HANNAH BEIER/Reuters
Canadian doctors are emphasizing that routine COVID-19 vaccinations are not only safe and effective but recommended for pregnant people, countering the approach taken by American officials.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that routine COVID vaccinations were no longer recommended for healthy pregnant women and children, sidestepping the traditional recommendation process led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Mr. Kennedy, a long-time vaccine skeptic, said the change was based on “common sense” and “good science.” But public-health experts and pediatricians on both sides of the border have sharply criticized the change.
These experts stress that immunization against COVID protects the parent and baby from severe illness. In Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) still recommends that pregnant people get immunized routinely as they are considered at increased risk of infection and serious complications from COVID.
Darine El-Chaar, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at the Ottawa Hospital, said she’s worried that Mr. Kennedy’s comments will fuel hesitancy and skepticism among pregnant people in Canada, including for other public-health interventions, despite him making the change “based on no scientific evidence.”
“These are safe vaccines. These have been well documented to be effective in pregnancy, similar to non-pregnant people,” she said. “They actually have more benefits because of pregnant people’s vulnerable immune status.”
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Dr. El-Chaar stressed that studies have shown that those who are pregnant and get COVID have a higher chance of developing complications such as pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, stillbirth and neonatal death.
Traditionally in the U.S., the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices would meet and vote on changes to immunization schedules or recommendations. A recommendation becomes official policy once it is adopted by the organization’s director – a process that was circumvented by Mr. Kennedy.
The Health Secretary was flanked by Jay Bhattacharya, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and Martin Makary, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in the video posted to social media announcing the policy change. Both men have voiced skepticism about the country’s pandemic response.
The CDC, as of Wednesday, still recommended that pregnant people should stay up-to-date on their COVID vaccinations, in addition to getting protected against other diseases, such as whooping cough and influenza.
The American Academy of Pediatrics was among the organizations that spoke out against Mr. Kennedy’s vaccine policy.
“The removal of the COVID vaccine from the immunization schedule bypasses evidence-based processes necessary to ensure vaccine safety, ignores the expertise of independent medical experts and could have long-term implications on the availability to families and health care workers,” the association said.
In Canada, NACI, a committee of experts in such fields as pediatrics, infectious diseases, epidemiology and public health, provides guidance on the use of existing or newly approved vaccines. It also identifies groups at high risk for vaccine-preventable diseases who should be targeted for vaccination.
Jesse Papenburg, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, said vaccine advisory groups are constantly evaluating new evidence and factors, such as vaccine efficacy, cost-effectiveness and feasibility, when making recommendations on vaccination.
“Recommendations are not set in stone,” he explained. “My problem is when there are politically motivated decisions that bypass the usual processes that are evidence-based. That is my No. 1 issue with what’s going on in the United States right now.”
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada also criticized the U.S. vaccine policy shift. In a statement Wednesday, the organization said COVID vaccination remains “safe and strongly recommended” during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
“Pregnant women who contract COVID-19 are more likely to end up in the hospital, need intensive care or require a ventilator compared to other women of the same age who are not pregnant,” the group said.
“In an age of growing misinformation and disinformation, the SOGC strongly urges that vaccine decisions, including during pregnancy, be guided by evidence-based science and clinical expertise.”
With a report from Reuters
