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Chimukuche RS, Nkosi B, Seeley J. Policy and Guideline Review of Vaccine Safety for COVID-19 in Pregnant Women in Southern Africa, with a Particular Focus on South Africa. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10122077. [PMID: 36560487 PMCID: PMC9786044 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10122077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Pregnant and lactating mothers have historically been excluded from clinical trials. To understand the shift from excluding to including this population in COVID-19 vaccine trials, we conducted a review of guidance issued by countries in southern Africa over the last three years. We conducted a review of documents and official statements recorded on Ministries of Health websites, and social media platforms, the World Health Organisation website, the COVID-19 Maternal Immunisation tracker and the African Union official webpage. Search terms included COVID-19 vaccination policies, guidelines for pregnant and lactating women, COVID-19 vaccination trials and pregnant women. We retrieved and reviewed policies, guidelines, and official statements from 12 countries. We found inconsistencies and incomplete guidance in respect to the inclusion of pregnant and lactating mothers in COVID-19 vaccine trials from the selected countries. Of the twelve countries reviewed, Namibia and South Africa had clear guidance on vaccination plans and implementation for pregnant women, and their inclusion in COVID-19 vaccine trials. Explicit and clear guidelines are critical in communicating changes in policy towards those deemed vulnerable for them to participate in vaccine trials. This review provides lessons for future pandemics on managing changes in guidance towards those groups historically excluded from vaccine and clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rujeko Samanthia Chimukuche
- Africa Health Research Institute, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- Division of Infection & Immunity, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Correspondence:
| | - Busisiwe Nkosi
- Africa Health Research Institute, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- University of KwaZulu-Natal, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
| | - Janet Seeley
- Africa Health Research Institute, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- University of KwaZulu-Natal, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine, London WC1H 9SH, UK
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Nachega JB, Sam-Agudu NA, Siedner MJ, Rosenthal PJ, Mellors JW, Zumla A, Hermans MP, Ntakwinja MB, Mukwege DM, Langenegger E, Mofenson LM. Prioritizing Pregnant Women for Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination in African Countries. Clin Infect Dis 2022; 75:1462-1466. [PMID: 36130226 PMCID: PMC9214132 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciac362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in pregnancy is associated with excess maternal and infant morbidity and mortality in both African and higher-resource settings. Furthermore, mounting evidence demonstrates the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women and infants. However, national guidelines in many African countries are equivocal or lack recommendations on COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy. We summarize key data on COVID-19 epidemiology and vaccination among pregnant African women to highlight major barriers to vaccination and recommend 4 interventions. First, policymakers should prioritize pregnant women for COVID-19 vaccination, with a target of 100% coverage. Second, empirically supported public health campaigns should be sustainably implemented to inform and support pregnant women and their healthcare providers in overcoming vaccine hesitancy. Third, COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women should be expanded to include antenatal care, obstetrics/gynecology, and targeted mass vaccination campaigns. Fourth, national monitoring and evaluation of COVID-19 vaccine uptake, safety, surveillance, and prospective outcomes assessment should be conducted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean B. Nachega
- Department of Epidemiology, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, and Center for Global Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Departments of Epidemiology and International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Stellenbosch University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Nadia A. Sam-Agudu
- International Research Center of Excellence, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria
- Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Coast School of Medical Sciences, Cape Coast, Ghana
| | - Mark J. Siedner
- Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
| | - Philip J. Rosenthal
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - John W. Mellors
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Alimuddin Zumla
- Center for Clinical Microbiology, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- National Institutes of Health and Research Biomedical Research Centre, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michel P. Hermans
- Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Cliniques Universitaires St-Luc, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mukanire B. Ntakwinja
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Panzi Hospital and Université Evangelique en Afrique, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Denis M. Mukwege
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Panzi Hospital and Université Evangelique en Afrique, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Eduard Langenegger
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stellenbosch University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Lynne M. Mofenson
- Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
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Hameed I, Khan MO, Nusrat K, Mahmood S, Nashit M, Malik S, Siddiqui OM, Samad SA, Marsia S, Usman MS, Siddiqi TJ. Is it safe and effective to administer COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Infect Control 2022; 51:582-593. [PMID: 36007670 PMCID: PMC9394101 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2022.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 08/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women performing an updated meta-analysis. METHODS We searched PubMed, Cochrane Central, and SCOPUS from inception to March 2022. Outcomes of interest were incidence of adverse maternal, fetal and neonatal consequences pertaining to safety of the vaccines. Secondarily, we analyzed the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections, hospitalization for COVID-19, and admission to the I.C.U. for COVID-19 assessing effectiveness of vaccines. Results were pooled using a random effects model. RESULTS Ten observational studies (n=326,499) analyzing pregnant women were included. Our results suggest that COVID-19 vaccination prevents infection (OR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.67; P = <0.00001) and related hospitalizations (OR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.31, 0.82; P = 0.006) effectively. It was also observed that vaccination does not change adverse outcomes in pregnancy, namely preeclampsia or eclampsia, stroke (four weeks of delivery), meconium-stained amniotic fluid, spontaneous vaginal delivery, operative vaginal delivery, cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, and blood transfusions. Furthermore, the vaccine was observed to be protective against neonatal COVID-19 I.C.U. admissions (OR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.81, 0.90; P = <0.00001). CONCLUSION Our pooled analysis suggests that the COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant women prevents infection effectively and has no adverse outcomes. Future large-scale trials in a randomized fashion are needed to confirm our results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ishaque Hameed
- Department of Internal Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Mohammad Omer Khan
- Department of Internal Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Khushboo Nusrat
- Department of Internal Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Samar Mahmood
- Department of Internal Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Nashit
- Department of Internal Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Shanza Malik
- Department of Internal Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Omer Mustafa Siddiqui
- Department of Internal Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Syed Abdus Samad
- Department of Surgery, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Shayan Marsia
- Department of Internal Medicine, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
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Ma Y, Deng J, Liu Q, Du M, Liu M, Liu J. Effectiveness and Safety of COVID-19 Vaccine among Pregnant Women in Real-World Studies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:246. [PMID: 35214704 PMCID: PMC8879911 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10020246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2021] [Revised: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines for pregnant women in real-world studies. We searched for observational studies about the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines among vaccinated pregnant women from inception to 6 November 2021. A total of 6 studies were included. We found that vaccination prevented pregnant women from SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR = 0.50, 95% CI, 0.35-0.79) and COVID-19-related hospitalization (OR = 0.50, 95% CI, 0.31-0.82). Messenger-RNA vaccines could reduce the risk of infection in pregnant women (OR = 0.13, 95% CI, 0.03-0.57). No adverse events of COVID-19 vaccination were found on pregnant, fetal, or neonatal outcomes. Our analysis confirmed the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women. Policy makers should formulate targeted strategies to improve vaccine coverage in pregnant women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yirui Ma
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, No. 38, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China; (Y.M.); (J.D.); (Q.L.); (M.D.)
| | - Jie Deng
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, No. 38, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China; (Y.M.); (J.D.); (Q.L.); (M.D.)
| | - Qiao Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, No. 38, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China; (Y.M.); (J.D.); (Q.L.); (M.D.)
| | - Min Du
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, No. 38, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China; (Y.M.); (J.D.); (Q.L.); (M.D.)
| | - Min Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, No. 38, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China; (Y.M.); (J.D.); (Q.L.); (M.D.)
| | - Jue Liu
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, No. 38, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100191, China; (Y.M.); (J.D.); (Q.L.); (M.D.)
- Institute for Global Health and Development, Peking University, No. 5, Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100871, China
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Ennab F, Babar MS, Khan AR, Mittal RJ, Nawaz FA, Essar MY, Fazel SS. Implications of social media misinformation on COVID-19 vaccine confidence among pregnant women in Africa. CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY AND GLOBAL HEALTH 2022; 14:100981. [PMID: 35187292 PMCID: PMC8837479 DOI: 10.1016/j.cegh.2022.100981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
It has been over a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and subsequently a global pandemic. The world has experienced a lot of uncertainty since then as we all get used to this new ‘normal’ with social distancing measures, lockdowns, the emergence of new variants, and an array of hope with the development of vaccines. Having an abstract understanding of vaccine delivery, public perceptions of vaccines, and promoting acceptance of vaccines are critical to tackling the pandemic. The advent of the pandemic has led to the emergence of an ‘infodemic’ or rampant misinformation surrounding the virus, treatment, and vaccines. This poses a critical threat to global health as it has the potential to lead to a public health crisis by exacerbating disease spread and overwhelming healthcare systems. This ‘infodemic’ has led to rising vaccine hesitancy which is of paramount concern with the WHO even identifying it as one of the ten main threats to Global health almost 2 years before the approval of COVID-19 vaccines. Pregnant African women are one of the most vulnerable population groups in a region with an already burdened healthcare system. Currently, there isn’t ample research in the literature that explores vaccine hesitancy in this subpopulation and the impact of social media misinformation surrounding it. The aim of this paper is to highlight the implications of this ‘infodemic’ on the pregnant African population and suggest key recommendations for improved healthcare strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farah Ennab
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Abdul Rahman Khan
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Faisal A Nawaz
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| | | | - Sajjad S Fazel
- Department of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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