Kaiser doctor explains why pregnant women should get the COVID-19 vaccine, not skip medical visits
"This vaccine does not cause infertility. It does not cause miscarriage," says Dr. Rachel Dong, the chief of women’s health at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento.
"This vaccine does not cause infertility. It does not cause miscarriage," says Dr. Rachel Dong, the chief of women’s health at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento.
"This vaccine does not cause infertility. It does not cause miscarriage," says Dr. Rachel Dong, the chief of women’s health at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an urgent advisory for pregnant women, telling them to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The guidance on Wednesday comes as more than 125,000 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in pregnant women. More than 22,000 have been hospitalized with the virus, while at least 161 pregnant women have died from COVID-19. Twenty-two of those deaths happened just last month.
The CDC says only 31% of pregnant women have been vaccinated.
Meanwhile, experts say that being pregnant and taking care of a newborn can be stressful for many mothers, especially during the pandemic. Some women have skipped visits with their doctors.
Doctor Rachel Dong, the chief of women’s health at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento, joined KCRA 3 on Thursday to talk about how women can stay healthy.
Toni Valliere: When you’re pregnant you’re hypersensitive to everything going on around you and what you put in your body. What should women be doing now? Do they need to isolate because we’re in a pandemic?
Dr. Dong: "There is absolutely no reason to delay care, to isolate. Our hospitals are safe. Our medical centers are safe. We recommended that women come in early for their prenatal care. We recommend that they come to every prenatal visit ad follow all the way through their postpartum care. At this time there is no reason to delay care for pregnancy. In fact, we want you to start your pregnancy care as early as you find out that you’re pregnant."
Ty Steele: Dr. Dong, we have a 13-month-old at home. So we had a baby in the pandemic and I got to be honest ... it was tough for me and my wife, especially for my wife. She had to go to doctor’s visits by herself. I’d be on FaceTime with the kids in the car, but it wasn’t the typical [experience. Can you offer some encouragement?
Dr. Dong: "Yes. You know we noticed that as health care providers that in the pandemic has absolutely changed the amount of anxiety and stress that pregnant women and their families face. You know we take all precautions within the medical centers to make sure that people are safe who are coming in for prenatal care. We want to reassure everyone that coming in for care is not going to put you at risk for COVID-19. So I understand the difficulty, but you know, it’s a step we had to take to protect our moms and our health care workers."
Toni Valliere: Let’s talk about the vaccine. When should women be getting it if they’re pregnant and how safe do we know it is?
Dr. Dong: "The vaccine is safe and effective. Pregnant women, those who are considering pregnancy and those who recently delivered are urged to get the vaccine. This vaccine does not cause infertility. It does not cause miscarriage. We have large recent studies that show that the miscarriage risk is not increased due to the vaccine. There is no biologically plausible mechanism by which it can cause infertility. And tens of thousands of pregnant women have received this vaccine and there has been no increased risk to the mom or baby. But COVID infection on the other hand … can have severe consequences. So please, if you are on the fence, please talk to your provider. They can provide you recent data, recent evidence so that you can be reassured about the safety of the vaccine and come get it to protect yourself and your newborn or your potential baby. Please, get the vaccine."