COVID-19: ‘Probably better to take the vaccine’ if pregnant - Dr Pickering
Medical doctor and former Deputy Premier in the Virgin Islands, Dr Kedrick D. Pickering said for pregnant women who share the concern, it might be better to take the vaccine after all since it provides measurable benefits.
Vaccine benefits outweigh the alternative of no vaccine
Dr Pickering at the time appeared in a panel discussion and live webcast entitled ‘Let's Talk COVID-19 Vaccination Live Forum’ hosted by Karia J. Christopher.
“In fact, what is recommended is that it is probably better to take the vaccine than not to take it because if you become sick with COVID there is a higher risk of pregnant women developing complications especially later in the pregnancy,” he said during a webcast.
He said for pregnant women, however, two issues arise, beginning with research data not available on the long term effects of the vaccine on the fetus.
“There's no evidence to date to suggest that vaccination in pregnancy causes any problems to the fetus, this is still evolving but there is no evidence to say that it causes any problems.”
He said when the benefits are weighed against the risks, it then becomes much better to get the protective benefits of the vaccine, than to becomes sick with COVID especially in the latter stages of pregnancy.
Breastfeeding mothers can protect offspring with anti-bodies
For lactating women, he indicated that the benefits are clear since antibodies produced can help the baby.
“Certainly, for lactating mothers, it is helpful if that person is vaccinated or that person takes a vaccine because the antibodies that are produced in the mum does have a protective effect on the baby.”
“So it's encouraged, it's not a problem,” Dr Pickering further said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although the overall risk of severe illness is low, pregnant and recently pregnant people are at a higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 when compared to non-pregnant people.
The CDC also indicates that women who are pregnant or were recently pregnant can receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
18 Responses to “COVID-19: ‘Probably better to take the vaccine’ if pregnant - Dr Pickering”
ABOUT ABOUT ? ? ?
These babies are our future generation you people are willing to experiment on...Let these mothers decide if that is what they want DO NOT FORCE YOUR statistical data upon them... what is wrong with you people
We should stop using data from one vaccine to justify other vaccines.
Also "no evidence to suggest" does not mean it is safe. It means exactly what it means. Why are we throwing caution to the wind?
That's like saying "We have no evidence that this road leads to a dead end so let's continue driving.' That's not how decisions should be made. That's careless. What if it turns out that these vaccines do harm babies? Who's going to be held accountable for this decision?
We have a whole history of medicine ruining lives and killing mothers and babies out of ignorance. Believe it or not, doctors used to tell women it was okay to smoke while pregnant. We now know this is one of the worst things you can do while pregnant. Hell! Society will judge you for even smoking near a pregnant woman.
Doctors also used to x-ray women to see if they were pregnant. Once again, one of the worst things you can do to a pregnant woman. Even dentists will not do dental x-rays if they know their patient is pregnant. They won't risk that infant's well being.
If you still doubt the madness women had to go through in the name of medicine, look up Thalidomide. It's a medicine that was prescribed to pregnant women and marketed as safe. It was supposed to help with morning sickness and there are still people alive, missing limbs because of this drug their mothers were told was safe.
So no, you don't get to act like there isn't just cause to worry. You don't get to act like it's insane to question what's going on. You don't get to present what you think is a solution as though there are no consequences.
Everyone is scared. Everyone is worried. Everyone wants to be safe and every mother wants to protect her baby. That's still no an excuse to forgo caution. Stop presenting things like problems can't occur.
We are human. We make mistakes. To act otherwise is hubris. We need to stop being so arrogant. Time will be the real judge for if we made the right decision.
Since pregnant women are vunerable, if you know a woman is pregnant then do your best to protect her. Don't be selfish and follow guidelines. Wear your mask, wash your hands, social distance. If you live or work with her, be cautious in your interactions with her, even if you are vaccinated (because we know vaccinated people can still transmit the virus). In some cases, you might need to limit your interactions with other people so you don't risk bringing anything back to her.
These are hard times and she's freaking out about bringing a child into the world under the conditions we are experiencing. Try not to stress her out and do your best to assure her that she's safe around you. You won't do anything to intentionally harm her.
You are right Dr. Pickering, the evidence doesn't exist..because these vaccines have been tested for less than 1 year before they started being administrated, and mostly on rather young healthy adults. The vaccines that we are familiar with, underwent good many years of extensive testing before being administrated. These are real facts.
We are living times when people in power, who are neither specialists or mandated, dictate medical policies that affect not only our health but every aspect of our lives. Corners are cut, protocols are discarded.
A guy like Bill Gates for example is being given plenty of time on every platform possible, to express his "suggestions" although he's not even a medical doctor, while many scientists, in the medical field are sidelined, censored or cancelled.
Check this German doctor, SUCHARIT BHAKDI. He is a professor of Microbiology with a lot of experience and a lifetime of research in the field of immunology. He got many awards from many universities and institutions. As soon as he raised doubts about all what happened these past 16 months and the vaccines, he started to be ostracized. No matter how documented and well explained his opinions are, despite his credentials, he started to be removed from social media and discredited by ppl who have nothing to do with the field or who are directly interested in these crazy pandemic related/motivated policies.
Surely the UK can also give advice on what is or isn’t safe?
Anyone with any concerns should speak to a doctor first and then unless told otherwise they should vaccinate.
"Should pregnant women be vaccinated?
While pregnancy puts women at higher risk of severe COVID-19, very little data are available to assess vaccine safety in pregnancy.
Pregnant women may receive the vaccine if the benefit of vaccinating a pregnant woman outweighs the potential vaccine risks.
For this reason, pregnant women at high risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 (e.g. health workers) or who have comorbidities which add to their risk of severe disease, may be vaccinated in consultation with their health care provider."
I guess doctors site WHO, PAHO, CDC, FDA and all the other 'experts' when it is convenient for them, then switch when again convenient.
Brother leave these decisions to the women. you obviously lack the care & empathy of a woman.
As a man I think men shouldn’t be delivering babies if a woman can do it. Men weren’t even allowed in but today’s man feels he needs to control everything.