WHO Says Pregnant Women Shouldn’t Receive Moderna Vaccine

The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending that pregnant women should not use Moderna’s vaccine, except for those deemed to be at high risk of infection.

The WHO advised that, pending more data on the risks, the vaccine should not be used during pregnancy unless the benefit of vaccinating a pregnant woman outweighs the potential risks, such as for healthcare workers at high risk of exposure and pregnant women with comorbidities that place them at high-risk of severe COVID-19.

Earlier this month, the WHO issued the same recommendation for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, advising pregnant women not to use the product given the lack of data to assess the risks.

The companies did not enroll pregnant women in their trials, but studies in pregnant women are planned in the coming months. The WHO said it will update its guidance based on results from those studies.