COVID mRNA Vaccines Not Linked To Increased Risk Of Miscarriage, HealthPartners Institute Research Finds
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- HealthPartners Institute released research Wednesday that shows COVID-19 mRNA vaccines -- the vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna -- do not increase the risk of miscarriage.
The Twin Cities research institute says the findings add to existing data that suggests COVID-19 vaccines are safe for people who are pregnant.
"Our data adds to a growing body of research that should give pregnant people confidence to get vaccinated against COVID-19, if they haven't already," said Elyse Kharbanda, MD, senior investigator at HealthPartners Institute and lead author on the study. "It's especially important for pregnant people to protect themselves against the virus because COVID-19 infections may impact them more severely and lead to birth complications."
The study involved approximately 105,000 patients who were early in their pregnancies, with data gathered from Dec. 15, 2020 to June 28, 2021. Bloomington-based HealthPartners and eight other large health systems provided the pregnancy data.
Researchers say the study suggests that vaccines had no impact on miscarriages.
"(Researchers) found that after adjusting for maternal age and other important risk factors, the proportion of miscarriages to ongoing pregnancies among those who were vaccinated was nearly identical to the proportion of miscarriages to ongoing pregnancies among those who were unvaccinated (an odds ratio of 1.02)," the release said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends pregnant people get the COVID-19 vaccine. HealthPartners Institute says earlier research has found that the vaccine "prompt a strong immune response in people who are pregnant, and likely provide protective benefits to babies;" other findings show that mRNA vaccines do not harm the placenta.
