Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Coverage Among Pregnant Women: Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System

Since 2004, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) have recommended that pregnant women receive the seasonal influenza vaccine, regardless of pregnancy trimester, because of their increased risk for severe complications from influenza. However, the uptake of the influenza vaccine by pregnant women has been low. During the 2009-2010 influenza season, pregnant women were identified as a priority population to receive the influenza A (H1N1) 2009 (2009 H1N1) monovalent vaccine in addition to the seasonal influenza vaccine. In this issue, we highlight information from the 10 states that collected data using the survey administered by the Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System (PRAMS) about seasonal vaccine coverage among women with recent live births and reasons for those who chose not to get vaccinated. The combined estimates from PRAMS of influenza vaccination coverage for the 2009-2010 season, which included data from October 2009 to March 2010, from 10 states were 50.7% for seasonal and 46.6% for 2009 H1N1 vaccine among women with recent live births. Among women who did not get vaccinated, reasons varied from worries about the safety of the vaccines for self and baby to not normally getting the vaccination. Further evaluation is needed on ways to increase influenza vaccination among pregnant women, effectively communicate the risk of influenza illness during pregnancy, and address women's concerns about influenza vaccination safety during pregnancy.