Emory study reveals complexity of COVID-19 vaccine decision-making for pregnant people

The decision whether to vaccinate is one that many people consider routine. For others, such as people who are pregnant or interested in becoming pregnant—including those who have experienced prior pregnancy loss and/or those from racial and ethnic groups with higher rates of maternal mortality—the decision may be more complex. An Emory University study—recently published in the peer-reviewed journal, Women’s Health—found that many pregnant women who delivered babies during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic were conflicted in their vaccine decision-making due to their personal risk factors and their feeling that guidance from health providers and available data were inadequate in helping them make informed decisions. “We’ve had numerous studies with important information about the pandemic and navigating the pandemic, but one group in particular—pregnant people—who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, is a group that really did not vaccinate at the rate that public health and medical organizations were hoping,” says study...