Devex: Why can’t pregnant women be vaccinated during epidemics?
“…It is a common situation during outbreaks and epidemics. Most live vaccines are not offered during pregnancy due to a lack of evidence about how they might affect the fetus, since pregnant women are almost always left out of clinical research in developing epidemic vaccines. While there are good reasons to be cautious about how they are included in some types of research, [Carleigh Krubiner, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development and one of the lead authors of a recent report on maternal immunization,] explained, excluding them ultimately exposes them to greater risks when outbreaks hit. The new report, supported by the Wellcome Trust, offers guidance on when and how to include pregnant women in vaccinations against emerging epidemic threats…” (Abrahams, 2/6).