The CDC, WHO, NYC Department of Health and the NYS DOH all recommend pregnant and breastfeeding people get vaccinated. But it took a while for them to agree, allowing misinformation to 'fill the data gap.' That has been difficult to overcome.
When Meaghan Whyte snagged an appointment for her first COVID-19 vaccine last February, she couldn’t believe her luck. “I was so excited to be getting it,” said Whyte. At the time, only select groups of New Yorkers were eligible, including people with certain “underlying conditions.” Whyte qualified because she was pregnant. She said she discussed it with her doctor, who “was very encouraging.”
“The downstream effect was that obstetrician-gynecologists across the country were not able to confidently counsel patients and encourage them to get vaccinated despite knowing the serious risks pregnant people face if they contract the virus,” said Dr. Christopher Zahn, vice president of practice activities for ACOG.
Anna Krieger was in her first trimester when she went with her wife to LaSante Health Center in Brooklyn to get her first dose in May 2021. Before making the appointment, she consulted with her doctor and received an email from him, which she shared with Gothamist. He cited ACOG and other health organizations that were offering interim recommendations for vaccination in pregnancy at the time, noting that research was still evolving.
When Krieger showed the supervisor the email from her doctor, the staffer then asked to speak to the doctor on the phone — a request Krieger declined. After further debate, Krieger ultimately left without getting her shot. She said when she got outside, she got a call from the clinic saying they changed their mind — but by that time she had decided to go elsewhere.LaSante did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Once she arrived at the appointment, the employee said she was given another screening form that asked again if she was pregnant. “Furthermore, it had you actually list the date of your last menstrual cycle, which I thought was pretty crazy,” the MTA employee said. “I honestly just made one up, and I got vaccinated.”
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