Finnish health authority recommends COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy

HELSINKI, June 4– Pregnant women can now choose to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they wish, according to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s new recommendation (THL) on Thursday.
The THL said in a press release that if the first COVID-19 vaccine dose was administered before the pregnancy, the second dose can also be taken whilst pregnant.
Furthermore, there is no need to postpone fertility treatments due to the COVID-19 vaccinations.
Pregnancy can increase the risk of serious severe illness and even death from COVID-19. For now, research on the effects of COVID-19 vaccination on pregnant women is still scarce. However, experience, animal tests and initial research data have not shown any cause for safety concerns. Several pregnant women have been vaccinated around the world, the THL said.
Emma Kajander, the THL’s medical specialist, suggested in the press release that pregnant women should consider being vaccinated especially if they have an underlying disease that increases their risk of contracting the virus.
“Vaccinations should also be considered in cases where the expectant mother is at a higher risk of being infected with the (novel) coronavirus at work, for example,” Kajander added.
The THL noted that COVID-19 vaccines can be taken together with other vaccines. The precautionary interval of 7-14 days between the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines is now being lifted.
“Hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide, and plenty of experiences from their use have been amassed. On this basis we have noted that a precautionary interval is no longer necessary,” explained Kajander.
According to the THL, as of Thursday afternoon, Finland had confirmed 92,913 COVID-19 infections, of which 143 were new. The death toll stood at 959. No coronavirus-related death was reported on Wednesday. To date, 45.7 percent of the country’s population have already received the first vaccine dose, and 9.9 percent the second.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as the United Kingdom, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. (Xinhua)