According to the latest official figures, more than half of pregnant women in Colombia not even one dose of the anticovid vaccinea scenario that arouses concern because so far this year five pregnant women have died after being infected with coronavirus.
Data known by EL COLOMBIANO show that as of May 24 of this year, only four out of ten pregnant women –44.6%– had started their vaccination schedule and only three out of ten –27.2%– had been injected a second dose.
The vaccination figures for the general population show deep gaps with pregnant women: 82.8% of Colombians already have a dose and 70.4% have already completed their schedule.
The lags are worrying, because it has been shown that pregnant women are more likely to develop severe forms of covid.
The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) point out that a person who is pregnant or has been pregnant in the last few months is more vulnerable to requiring hospitalization or dying from covid-19.
“The pregnancy causes changes in the body that could make it easier to get seriously ill from respiratory viruses like the one that causes covid-19”, reads a guide from the CDC.
So far this year, five pregnant women have already died in Colombia from covid-associated pneumonia, according to the most recent report from the National Institute of Health (INS). And those who have become seriously ill are not few.
The INS collects data on conditions during pregnancy with an indicator called “extreme maternal morbidity” (MME). It refers to cases of women who have come close to dying from complications while pregnant, but have survived.
So far in 2022, a peak in MME was recorded: there were 9,957 cases until the last week of April. These are higher data than in years prepandemia (see graph) and is the most robust figure since 2013.
Although there are cases of pregnant women who become seriously ill after developing covid-19 –there were 424 until last April–, the increase is palpable in other complications.
Ómar Segura, PHD in public health at the National University, explained that the increase in pregnant women who become seriously ill is related to the difficulties that the health system had in treating them since the pandemic began.
“Many of the prenatal checkups have been affected over these two years, because sometimes the staff was not available or was dedicated to attending to other urgent cases,” Segura said.
To this was added that the fear of getting infected caused millions of people, including pregnant women, to stop attending medical services.
–
Why the delays?
Pregnant women did not start to be vaccinated at the same time as the rest of the population. This was because in the first clinical trials that manufacturers of vaccines anticovid, the performance of these drugs in pregnant women was not verified.
However, the trials were ready months later and in Colombia the Ministry of Health gave the go-ahead to vaccinate pregnant women from July 2021, about five months later than the rest of the population.
Dionne Cruz, president of the Colombian Association of Public Health, pointed out that a “differential strategy aimed at this population” was needed by the Ministry of Health.
The objective of that ministerial portfolio was to get 250,000 pregnant women vaccinated, but so far only 221,876 have the first dose. This newspaper consulted with the Ministry of Health as to why the lack of coverage was due, but until the closing of this edition it did not receive a response.
–
Don’t be afraid to get vaccinated
If you are a pregnant woman or know someone who is in this stage, you should know that the anticovid vaccination is absolutely safe and that it is much less risky than contagion.
“No adverse reactions have been shown, malformations or problems due to the vaccine. Neither for the mother, nor for the fetus”, explained Dr. Segura. He remembers that women should apply the anticovid vaccine after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to 40 days after delivery.
For his part, Cruz recommended that vaccinators personally contact pregnant women so that they can be immunized. “It is important to indicate points close to their residences or jobs and opening hours,” he stressed.
– –
