Significant Portion of Pregnant Women Are Unvaccinated

A significant portion of pregnant women do not receive recommended Tdap and influenza vaccinations, even when they are offered, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In order to quantify rates of influenza and pertussis and disease-related hospitalization among pregnant women and infants and rates of influenza and Tdap vaccination among pregnant women, researchers analyzed data from the Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network and Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality Surveillance System for the 2010-2011 through 2017-2018 seasons, National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System for 2010 to 2017, and an internet panel survey conducted among 2097 women aged 18 to 49 years who reported pregnancy at any time since August 1, 2018.

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From 2010-2011 to 2017-2018, 24% to 34% of influenza-associated hospitalizations per season were pregnant women aged 15 to 44 years. From 2010 to 2017, 3928 pertussis-related hospitalizations occurred among infants younger than 2 months old.

Rates of influenza and Tdap vaccination reported as of April 2019 were 53.7% and 54.9%, respectively. Among women to whom vaccination was offered, 65.7% and 70.5% received influenza and Tdap vaccinations, respectively.

The most commonly cited reasons for not being vaccinated were believing that vaccines were not effective, not knowing vaccination was needed during pregnancy, and safety concerns for the infant.

“Many pregnant women do not receive both vaccines recommended during pregnancy, increasing their and their newborns’ risk for influenza and pertussis infection and their potentially devastating consequences. Although pregnant women differ in responses to vaccination offers and referrals, health care providers remain their most trusted source of vaccine information. Starting maternal vaccination discussions with patients early in pregnancy can offer providers multiple opportunities to share information tailored to individual patients’ needs and address vaccination-related concerns.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Lindley MC, Kahn KE, Bardenheier BH, et al. Vital signs: Burden and prevention of influenza and pertussis among pregnant women and infants — United States [published online October 8, 2019]. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6840e1.