Those who are pregnant and get infected with SARS-CoV2 are not only more vulnerable to developing
severe illness and requiring hospitalization, but some even die from it, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Pregnant women have an increased risk of severe illness and hospitalization from a COVID-19 infection, which can have devastating effects on a pregnancy and the fetus like pre-term birth, stillbirth and other complications," said Gale Burstein, MD, Erie County Commissioner of Health and clinical professor of pediatrics in the Jacobs School.
Tom Russo, MD, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine in the Jacobs School and a physician with UBMD Internal Medicine, noted that new medical data on how COVID-19 affects pregnancy continues to be alarming.
"Pregnant women with COVID-19 have a significantly worse outcome," said Russo. "They are more likely than uninfected
pregnant women to deliver prematurely, end up in the ICU, require mechanical ventilation, and die. Recent data also suggests there is an increase in stillbirths in women infected with COVID compared to those not infected.
"The best way to reduce all these risks is to get vaccinated with either the Pfizer or Moderna
vaccine, both of which have been shown to be safe for both mother and baby," said Russo.
