UPDATE: UK Government denies changes to Covid vaccine guidance for pregnant and breastfeeding women

UPDATE: UK Government denies changes to Covid vaccine guidance for pregnant and breastfeeding women

UPDATE: UK Government denies changes to Covid vaccine guidance for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Image: Image Point Fr/Shutterstock.com

FOLLOWING a viral post that allegedly highlighted that the UK government had changed Covid vaccine guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MRHA) has responded.

UPDATE 12.49 pm (September 6) – The MRHA, through the UK government, has denied claims that advice regarding pregnant and breastfeeding women and the Covid vaccine has changed.

“No change to MHRA advice on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding,” read the title of the GOV.UK article on Monday, September 5.

“Our advice remains that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective during pregnancy and breastfeeding.”

Speaking about the apparent changes highlighted in the viral post from August 29, the article said: “We are aware of false claims on social media that our advice on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines while pregnant or breastfeeding has changed.”

It added: “We would like to reassure the public that our advice has not changed. Our advice remains that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective during pregnancy and breastfeeding and there is substantial evidence to support this advice.”

The post from Twitter user @laworfiction read: “Since the start govt has promised the jabs are safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women. There was no data then and suddenly they now say lack of data means it cannot be declared safe.”

They highlighted that the on the government’s official website, the article, which was updated on August 16, stated: “In the context of supply under Regulation 174, it is considered that sufficient reassurance of safe use of the vaccine in pregnant women cannot be provided at the present time: however, use in women of childbearing potential could be supported provided healthcare professionals are advised to rule out known or suspected pregnancy prior to vaccination.”

It adds: “Women who are breastfeeding should also not be vaccinated.”


ORIGINAL 6.13 pm (August 29) – A viral post highlighting alleged changes to Covid vaccine guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women in the UK has caused outrage on social media.

The post, which has garnered over 250 retweets and hundreds of comments, appears to show advice regarding the Covid vaccine for pregnant and breastfeeding women that contradicts the guidance from the UK government during the pandemic.

In the post, Twitter account @laworfiction wrote: “Since the start govt has promised the jabs are safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women. There was no data then and suddenly they now say lack of data means it cannot be declared safe.”

On the government’s official website, the article, which was updated on August 16, states: “In the context of supply under Regulation 174, it is considered that sufficient reassurance of safe use of the vaccine in pregnant women cannot be provided at the present time: however, use in women of childbearing potential could be supported provided healthcare professionals are advised to rule out known or suspected pregnancy prior to vaccination.”

It adds: “Women who are breastfeeding should also not be vaccinated.”

The updated GOV.UK post titled “Summary of the Public Assessment Report for COVID-19 Vaccine Pfizer/BioNTech” comes months after Professor Sir Chris Whitty said that Covid vaccination in pregnancy was “a very good thing to do for your newborn baby.”

Speaking on Monday, February 21, the UK’s Chief Medical Officer said at the time: “It is really clear now that vaccination in pregnancy is a very good thing to do for you, a very good thing to do for your unborn baby, and in new data demonstrating that it’s actually a very good thing to do for your new-born baby.

“There is now data that shows that it provides protection for newborns. It’s protecting both you and your unborn.

“I would really really want to use this opportunity to encourage anybody who is pregnant and is not vaccinated please to do so.”

Comments flooded the Twitter post from @laworfiction.

“Surely this should be a headline story on every news channel and all newspapers?”

Another person said: “Yet when my daughter in law was pregnant, she was constantly getting pressured to get the jab, with one midwife even saying that covid would make the baby still born, luckily, for probably the only time ever, my son actually listened to me and they resisted.”

“Not only promised they were safe but actively campaigned for pregnant women to come forward. This is criminal,” said another person.

Someone retweeted a post from former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, which read: Real-world data shows the #COVID19 vaccine is safe – we stand with our midwives who are sharing this vital guidance with the public.”

https://twitter.com/lmshe4/status/1564282094846709763?s=21&t=riGhssYKDwGddMdckSPi0g

Although the GOV.UK website states “that sufficient reassurance of safe use of the vaccine in pregnant women cannot be provided at the present time” and that “women who are breastfeeding should also not be vaccinated,” the NHS website still states it is safe in pregnancy and when breastfeeding.

The NHS website reads: “If you’re pregnant, it’s important to get vaccinated to protect you and your baby. The antibodies your body produces in response to the vaccine can also give your baby protection against COVID-19.

“You’re at higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 if you’re pregnant. If you get COVID-19 late in your pregnancy, your baby could also be at risk.

“Evidence shows that most pregnant women with COVID-19 who need hospital treatment or intensive care in the UK have not been vaccinated.

“If you’ve not had your first 2 doses and booster dose yet, it’s important to get your vaccinations as soon as possible.”

It adds: “It’s safe to have the vaccine during any stage of pregnancy, from the first few weeks up to your expected due date. You do not need to delay vaccination until after you have given birth.

“Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 reduces the risk of having a stillbirth.

“There’s no evidence COVID-19 vaccination increases the risk of having a miscarriage, pre-term birth or other complications in your pregnancy.

“The COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any live viruses and cannot give you or your baby COVID-19.”


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Written by

Matthew Roscoe

Originally from the UK, Matthew is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

Comments


    • Naimah Yianni

      30 August 2022 • 09:52

      It´s not safe, the rates of miscarriage have gone through the roof. That´s according to government data forom various countries…… When I was pregnant 18 years ago I was told that in pregnancy you avoid any kind of medication unless it´s a matter of life and death, so I was told not even to take paracetamo, not to have a smear tests as this could cause damage or infection, but then everything changed. I wonder why?

      How many women out there choose what they eat very carefully when pregnant, won´t take certain risks, won´t drink alcolo in case it damages the baby……but they have rolled up their sleeves and been injected with an expermental treatment that has not even been fully tested and is only being used under emergency authorisation? Don´t people stop and think for themselves!!!???

    • John

      30 August 2022 • 12:40

      To answer Naimah’s question: almost no one thought for themselves during the covid period. Face mask being the most obvious and blatant example. No medical proof that they help stop transmission in real-world situations, WHO recommending they were not used then remarkably changing their advice when lent on by governments desperate to show that they were doing something and wanting a tool to make the gullible population scared witless and therefore follow their every command (hence they only listened to the doom-monger scientists and their discredited predictions rather than all those who were proved right but at the time vilified). Now we have conclusive proof that countries with face mask mandates had worse transmission rates, pretty much universally when compared to equivalent demographics in countries that didn’t. Yet still, even now, people everywhere put these germ deposit cloths over their faces and bask in their ignorance, thinking they are being virtuous when in fact they are just being stupid. That is what got me thinking that I can’t believe anything the authorities were telling us, even when it came to vaccines. I’ve had mine, but no more. I’ll take the risk of catching what is now, for almost everyone, just a bad cold.

    • Klaus Schwab’s fangirl

      31 August 2022 • 00:38

      Lol, the Holy Water came out so fast that any person with self-respect knew there is no way to back up the vaccine safety claims for pregnant women in such a short time.

    Comments are closed.