New Delhi, July 2
Pregnant women can now walk into the nearest Covid vaccine centre or opt for Covid vaccination appointments through the CoWIN application.
The Health Ministry on Friday approved the recommendations from the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation to allow Covid vaccination of pregnant women.
The decision will enable pregnant women to make an informed choice about Covid inoculation and has been communicated to all the states and UTs.
Recently, NTAGI has allowed Covid vaccination for lactating women.
NTAGI chief NK Arora today said it was absolutely safe for pregnant women to get vaccinated.
Till date, all groups except pregnant women were eligible for Covid vaccination.
Studies have shown that Covid-19 infection during pregnancy may result in rapid deterioration of health of pregnant women and they are at an increased risk of severe diseases – a situation that may affect the fetus, too.
The matter was examined by domain knowledge experts based on the evidence that indicated that pregnant women were at an increased risk of severe illness from Covid-19 compared to non-pregnant women in case they got infected.
Further, pregnant women with Covid-19 infection are at an increased risk for preterm birth and other adverse pregnancy outcomes including higher chances of neonatal morbidity.
Additionally, the experts highlighted pre-existing comorbidities, advanced maternal age, and high body mass index as factors for severe Covid-19 in pregnancy.
NTAGI has recommended vaccination for pregnant women.
The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) too has unanimously recommended it. Further, a national level consultation on Covid vaccination for pregnant women was also convened by the Health Ministry to build consensus on the issue.
The consultation unanimously endorsed the recommendation of NTAGI to vaccinate pregnant women.
The Ministry has accepted these recommendations and prepared an operational guideline for vaccination of pregnant women, counselling kit for medical officers and frontline workers, and awareness material to vaccinate pregnant women.
