Maternal vaccination: a review of current evidence and recommendations

Maternal vaccination is an effective means of protecting pregnant women, their fetuses, and infants from vaccine-preventable infections. Despite the availability of sufficient safety data to support the use of vaccines during pregnancy, maternal immunization remains an underutilized method of disease prevention, often because of concerns from both healthcare providers and pregnant women about vaccine safety. Such concerns have been reflected in the low uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine among pregnant women seen in many parts of the world. Here, we present an update of the current recommendations for the use of vaccines during pregnancy, including the evidence supporting the use of novel vaccine platforms. We also provide an overview of the data supporting the use of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy and an update of the status of vaccines that are currently under development for use in pregnant women.

Automated summary

Maternal vaccination is an effective measure to protect pregnant women, fetuses, and infants from infections. However, concerns about vaccine safety from healthcare providers and pregnant women have led to low utilization of this disease prevention method, as seen in the low uptake of COVID-19 vaccine among pregnant women globally. This article provides an update on the current recommendations for vaccines during pregnancy, including evidence on novel vaccine platforms. It also presents an overview of the data supporting the use of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy and the development of vaccines for use in pregnant women.