Flu vaccination has been historically low for pregnant women, despite the long-standing recommendation that pregnant women get vaccinated. And that troubling trend hasn’t changed much in recent years. According to survey data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today, only about half (49 percent) of pregnant women were estimated to have been vaccinated during last year’s flu season.FOR MORE INFO VIEW INTO THE POST:
Pregnant women who were offered a flu shot by a health provider were five times as likely to be vaccinated as women who weren’t offered the shot, and were more likely to have positive attitudes about the effectiveness of the vaccine. However, four out of 10 women did not receive a provider offer. Among pregnant women who planned to skip the flu shot, top concerns were safety risks to their baby and the possibility that the vaccine would give them the flu. These echo some of the fears expressed in our own flu poll from last year .
But the truth is that pregnant women are at an increased risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and even death from seasonal flu complications. The flu shot given during pregnancy has been shown to protect both the mother and her baby (up to 6 months old) from flu.
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Bottom line: Avoid the flu, talk to your doctor about getting the flu shot, even if you were vaccinated during the previous flu season. And it’s not too early—seasonal flu shots have already begun arriving at drug stores across the country. The CDC recommends that all Americans older than 6 months get an annual flu vaccination. The agency continues to stress the importance of getting the vaccine for people at high risk, including pregnant women, young children, adults over 65, and anyone with an underlying chronic disorder, such as asthma, heart disease, or immune suppression.
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