Ontario obstetrics group welcomes move to prioritize pregnant women for COVID vaccine

Ontario obstetricians are welcoming the province’s move to include pregnant women on its priority list of recipients in the next phase of its COVID-19 vaccination plan.

Dr. Constance Nasello, president of the Ontario Society of Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists, says although pregnant women were excluded from initial trials of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, there is increasing evidence that the vaccines are safe for them.

Nasello says there’s evidence indicating that while many people who contract COVID-19 while pregnant have mild symptoms, pregnancy is a risk factor for more severe symptoms requiring hospitalization.

Saskatchewan is the only other province to explicitly include pregnant people in its priority list for vaccines.