Kanikah Mehndiratta, MSc, University of Glasgow
Delta variant has been a recent SARS-CoV-2 strain that is building serious concern among researchers. The COVID-19 disease has proven deadly with newer strains evolving from various regions globally. A lot of research went onto developing vaccines that work against various SARS-CoV-2 strains.
The newly evolved strains tend to be more prepared to fight the body’s immune defense. This raises concerns for the efficacy of current vaccines against such strains that are better prepared to infect various body systems. Automatically, pregnant women and their fetuses or newborns face greater risks of getting infected.
An infected mother-to-be with a decreased lung capacity and a compromised immune system that not just protects the mother but the fetus too. This could result in pregnancy-associated complications such as miscarriages, stillbirths, pre-term births. In rare cases, the disease could also infect the fetus or the newborn baby from a COVID-positive mother. Obstetricians in local U.S hospitals are reporting many newborns infected with COVID-19, mostly because of an unvaccinated mother. This also emphasizes the need to get vaccinated as soon as a mother delivers.
If not dealt with, the issue could prove tremendously challenging and disheartening. Recent data from the U.S CDC states only 1 in 5 pregnant women is vaccinated with single or both vaccine doses. Also, 95% of COVID-positive that were hospitalized and/or died due to the infection were unvaccinated. The CDC also reported efficacy data based on 2500 women, who got vaccinated about 5 months before pregnancy with no added risks of miscarriages. The miscarriage rate was 13%, which is nearly the average rate.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG) is thus recommending all mothers-to-be to get vaccinated against the deadly disease. This recommendation is supported by the evidence on the safe use of vaccines on thousands of pregnant women. The organization also emphasizes the role of an obstetrician-gynecologist in backing women on such a choice. The new vaccination advice against the delta strain also applies to nursing mothers or women planning a pregnancy.
Vaccines are the existent, most effective tools against such life-threatening viral infections. They have been tested to be safe and effective. So, governments globally need to take actions towards communicating the havoc it could lead. No one should be mandating what a pregnant woman chooses to do with her body. But the gravity of the COVID-19 situation makes vaccination against the delta strain an unavoidable task.
Also read: 28,000 years old preserved lion cub found in the Siberian cave
References:
- 1. Acog and smfm recommend covid-19 vaccination for pregnant individuals. (n.d.). https://www.acog.org/en/news/news-releases/2021/07/acog-smfm-recommend-covid-19-vaccination-for-pregnant-individuals
- Press, T. A. (n.d.). CDC urges pregnant women to get Covid vaccine as delta surges. NBC News.
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Author info:
Kanikah Mehndiratta is an avid researcher in the field of Genetics with a background in Biotechnology. She is a postgraduate from the University of Glasgow in their Medical Genetics and Genomics program. Currently, based in Chandigarh as a scientific writer, she involves herself mainly in projects related to neurological disorders. Outside of academics, she likes to read novels, travel and is involved in volunteer work mostly.
LinkedIn profile- https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanikah-mehndiratta-301830171
Other articles-
1. https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/natural-killer-cells-defence-against-self-destruction/
2. https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/crispr-cas9-for-disease-resistance-in-salmon/
3.https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/sexually-dimorphic-hydrocarbons-pheromones-in-cockroaches/
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