The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said that pregnant women are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine. They can register for vaccination on the Co-WIN portal or walk into government or private COVID-19 vaccination centres to get inoculated, the Ministry said on Friday, July 2. The decision has been conveyed to all states and Union Territories, the Ministry said. Women can be vaccinated at any stage of their pregnancy, and the procedures for registration and obtaining post-vaccination will remain the same as for all other beneficiaries.
The government’s decision comes on the recommendation of National Technical Advisory Group of Immunisation (NTAGI) and The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC). The recommendations were unanimously accepted at a national-level consultation by the Ministry, which included technical experts, state government representatives, non-government organisations and other parties, it said in a statement.
Based on the recommendations, the Union government has prepared a guideline for the vaccination of pregnant women, along with counselling kits for healthcare workers and the general public. According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, pregnant women are more at risk of developing severe illness after contracting the coronavirus. Pregnant women with COVID-19 are also at higher risk of preterm births and high-risk pregnancies.
On May 28, the 16th National Technical Advisory Group of Immunisation (NTAGI) Meeting recommended that pregnant women can be inoculated against COVID-19 through vaccination. It had issued guidelines that stated they should be carefully monitored after vaccination, and be made aware of all the risks and adverse effects before getting the vaccine, among others. It was also decided that though there may be risks to the woman and child such as clotting, especially with the Covishield vaccine, the benefits outweigh the risks.