Prioritizing Pregnant Women for Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination in African Countries.
(2022) Clinical infectious diseases — Vol. 75, n° 8, p. 1462-1466 (2022)
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- Abstract
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in pregnancy is associated with excess maternal and infant morbidity and mortality in both African and higher-resource settings. Furthermore, mounting evidence demonstrates the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women and infants. However, national guidelines in many African countries are equivocal or lack recommendations on COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy. We summarize key data on COVID-19 epidemiology and vaccination among pregnant African women to highlight major barriers to vaccination and recommend 4 interventions. First, policymakers should prioritize pregnant women for COVID-19 vaccination, with a target of 100% coverage. Second, empirically supported public health campaigns should be sustainably implemented to inform and support pregnant women and their healthcare providers in overcoming vaccine hesitancy. Third, COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women should be expanded to include antenatal care, obstetrics/gynecology, and targeted mass vaccination campaigns. Fourth, national monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 vaccine uptake, safety, surveillance, and prospective outcomes assessment should be conducted.
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Nachega, J. B., Sam-Agudu, N. A., Siedner, M. J., Rosenthal, P. J., Mellors, J. W., Zumla, A., Hermans, M., Ntakwinja, M. B., Mukwege, D. M., Langenegger, E., & Mofenson, L. M. (2022). Prioritizing Pregnant Women for Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination in African Countries. Clinical infectious diseases, 75(8), 1462-1466. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciac362 (Original work published 2022)