COVID-19 Vaccines Appear Safe During Pregnancy: Early Data

Scientists at the US CDC report no red flags in a preliminary analysis of the safety of Pfizer/BioNTech’s and Moderna’s mRNA-based immunizations among expectant mothers.

Written byChristie Wilcox, PhD

| 2 min read

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Although transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 across the placenta is rare, pregnant people are at an increased risk for severe COVID-19, which is why many experts and scientific societies have argued that vaccination is a must during pregnancy. However, initial clinical trials excluded pregnant people, so there has been limited clinical data on this population.

Now, the first large-scale results are in, and they are encouraging. According to a study by scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in the New England Journal of Medicine yesterday (April 21), there are no increased risks of severe side effects or adverse pregnancy outcomes from either the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for emergency use in the US.

The study examined self-reported symptoms from more than 35,000 people aged 16 to 54 who were pregnant when they received their COVID-19 vaccination and who ...

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Meet the Author

Christie Wilcox, PhD
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Christie was a well-established science blogger and writer when she was awarded a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology with a specialization in ecology, evolution and conservation biology from the University of Hawai‘i in 2014 for her research on the genetics of lionfishes. A short two years later, she published her debut book Venomous: How Earth’s Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry, which received widespread acclaim, and after that, she fully left academia behind and established herself as a science writer and editor. She joined The Scientist in 2021 as newsletter editor and left as senior editor in 2023. She is a member of the Author’s Guild, the Northwest Science Writers Association, and the National Association of Science Writers.
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