The Covid-19 booster dose is well-tolerated by pregnant or lactating women, suggests a recent study published in JAMA Network Open.¹

In this study, participants from an ongoing online prospective cohort study initiated in January 2021 of pregnant and lactating women including those who were planning a pregnancy were enrolled in a follow-up Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) survey regarding their experiences of Covid-19 vaccine booster dose and reactions, if any, occurring within 24 hours of receiving the dose, from October 2021. A total of 17,014 (97.2%) participants completed the follow-up online survey till April 4, 2022. Of these, 2009 (11.8%) were pregnant at the time of their booster dose, while 10,279 (60.4%) were lactating and 4726 (27.8%) were non-pregnant and non-lactating women.

Out of 17,005 participants, 15,674 reported experiencing a local or systemic reaction following the booster dose. Local reactions were reported by 14,074 of 17,005 patients (82.8%), while 11,542 of 17,005 patients (67.9%) reported a minimum of one systemic symptom. Injection site pain and fatigue were the most commonly reported symptoms.

The odds of any local reaction to the booster dose was higher among pregnant women compared to those who were not pregnant or were not lactating with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.2. However, the pregnant women were less likely to experience any systemic reaction with aOR of 0.7. Majority of the pregnant and lactating women did not have any obstetric or lactation-related concerns after taking the vaccine.

These findings of the survey indicate that the Covid-19 booster dose was well-tolerated by the pregnant and lactating women. It highlights the need of addressing vaccine hesitancy among this population group. Clinicians should encourage the pregnant and lactating women to not only complete the primary vaccination series but also take the booster dose when eligible.

Reference

1. Alisa Kachikis, et al. Analysis of vaccine reactions after COVID-19 vaccine booster doses among pregnant and lactating individuals. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Sep 1;5(9):e2230495. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.30495.