Global equity in protection of pregnant frontline workers

• Published in: Wellcome open research Vol. 6; p. 66
• Main Authors: Jaffe, Elana F., Karron, Ruth A., Krubiner, Carleigh B., Wonodi, Chizoba B., Beigi, Richard H., Sheffield, Jeanne S., Faden, Ruth R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• ISSN: 2398-502X; 2398-502X
• DOI: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16548.1

Vaccination of frontline workers against COVID-19 is underway in some countries. With women comprising a majority of health, education, and other essential workforces, many on the front lines of the pandemic response will be pregnant at the time that they are offered COVID-19 vaccines. However, pregnant people were not included in any of the COVID-19 vaccine trials that regulatory agencies evaluated when considering authorization. Without pregnancy-specific data, pregnant frontline workers in some settings are being denied COVID-19 vaccines. In other settings, pregnant frontline workers are able to access these same vaccines, but are faced with the burden of decision-making in the absence of an explicit recommendation for use and without pregnancy-specific data. While permissive recommendations for use in pregnancy are ethically preferable to unjustly denying vaccine access, objectives to protect the frontline workforce will fall short until there is evidence to support explicit recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy. In this article, we provide three actionable recommendations to ensure equitable protection of pregnant frontline workers as vaccines against COVID-19 continue to be developed and rolled out globally. First, efforts must be taken now to leverage critical opportunities for narrowing the evidence gaps around currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy. Next, action in the near term is needed to preempt evidence gaps for COVID-19 vaccines still in development. Finally, in the absence of an explicit recommendation for use in pregnancy, and while pregnancy-specific data lags behind, pregnant people should be prioritized for alternate preventive and treatment measures. Achieving equitable protection for those who are pregnant and serving on the frontlines of the pandemic will require no less.