WHO "Pregnant Women Should Avoid Receiving Moderna Vaccine"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that it does not recommend the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant women.

On the 27th (local time), major foreign media including The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the WHO said, "Unless pregnant women are in a high-risk group for COVID-19, we do not recommend the Moderna vaccine for them." This means that vaccination is discouraged unless the individual is a healthcare worker or has a chronic illness with a high risk of infection.

Previously, the WHO also stated that pregnant women should not receive the Pfizer vaccine. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are mRNA vaccines. They work by injecting genetic material to produce antigens, which then lead to antibody production. This method can speed up vaccine development but has not yet been commercialized before.

The reason the WHO recommends that pregnant women avoid both vaccines is due to insufficient data to determine their safety. So far, there have been no clinical trials conducted on pregnant women.

However, the United States takes the position that pregnant women should decide for themselves whether to get vaccinated. This is because pregnant women infected with COVID-19 have a higher likelihood of developing severe symptoms. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pregnant COVID-19 patients are twice as likely to be admitted to intensive care units and more than three times as likely to require mechanical ventilation compared to typical patients.