According to a recent study, 30% of future French mothers were still not vaccinated against Covid-19 last January. Figures that worry the Ministry of Health given the risks.
According to a preliminary report by the Epi-Phare structure, which combines Health Insurance (Cnam) and the Medicines Agency (ANSM), the percentage of French pregnant women not vaccinated against the coronavirus reached 29.8% on January 6 last. In addition, 39.4% of pregnant women had not received a second dose of vaccine. These figures worry the Ministry of Health which finds them “too high in relation to the risks“, knowing that there is for example “22 times more likely to give birth prematurely“, “8 times more likely to end up in intensive care“, or “5 times more risk of the child going to intensive care“said representatives of the Ministry of Health on February 15 during a press briefing.
As of January 6, 2022:
29.8% of pregnant women had not received any vaccine dose
39.4% of pregnant women had not received a second dose of vaccine— EPI-PHARE (@EPIPHARE) February 17, 2022
These percentages vary according to the trimester of pregnancy: they are much higher among women in their last trimester of pregnancy (41.7%) than for those in their first trimester (21%) or in the second (26.8%). . The report also reveals that the rate of non-vaccination is higher among the youngest pregnant women, reaching 41.3% among 15-24 year olds. The vaccination status of pregnant women also depends on their social situation: 34.3% of pregnant women living in the most disadvantaged municipalities are not vaccinated, compared to 21.9% among those living in the most privileged municipalities. Finally, there are strong regional disparities: the overseas regions, the Paca region and Corsica record the highest proportion of unvaccinated pregnant women.
Babies of mothers vaccinated against Covid better protected
Vaccination of pregnant women against Covid-19 is indeed recommended from the start of pregnancy, to protect future mothers and their fetus. But it would also protect babies at birth, as revealed by another American study, published on February 15, 2022. According to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), babies whose mothers were vaccinated during pregnancy are 61% less likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19. To reach this conclusion, the study authors followed babies hospitalized between July 2021 and January 2022 and aged less than 6 months.
84% of hospitalized babies were born to unvaccinated mothers
If babies born to a mother who received a dose of vaccine during pregnancy are less affected by hospitalizations, this is not the case for those whose mothers were not vaccinated during pregnancy. In effect, 84% of babies who were hospitalized were born to mothers who had not been vaccinated. The researchers also recorded a death and in this case, the mother was not vaccinated either. The researchers specify that only mothers who received two doses of vaccines or their second dose Pfizer or Moderna were included in the study. Women who had been vaccinated before conceiving their child were therefore not taken into account. “In summary, maternal vaccination is a very important way to help protect these young babies“, CDC researcher Dana Meaney-Delman said during a press briefing.