Anne Schuchat, director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), speaks during a Senate Fund Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday May 19, 2021 in Washington, DC, United States.
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Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that they were awaiting data from studies testing Covid-19 vaccines on pregnant women this summer and on children 6 months old by the end of the year.
The deputy main director Dr. Anne Schuchat told lawmakers that the CDC has already received “reassuring data” on vaccines given to women in the third trimester. “We expect more data this summer, especially on vaccines given earlier in pregnancy,” she said at a Senate hearing on the agency’s annual budget.
Although the vaccines are not yet approved for use in pregnant women, Schuchat said that pregnant women should have access to the vaccines because Covid can make them sicker than other people.
“Women who are pregnant and get Covid have worse experiences with the infection than non-pregnant women,” said Schuchat. “More time in the intensive care unit, more risk of serious consequences, including those rare deaths. Covid also makes pregnancy difficult by increasing the risk of premature delivery and leading to other types of complications.”
Schuchat also said new data shows vaccinated mothers can transfer their Covid antibodies to their babies while breastfeeding.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, makes an opening statement during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing to discuss the ongoing federal response to COVID-19 at the U.S. Capitol Washington, DC, May 11, 2021.
Greg Nash | Pool | Reuters
Dr. White House chief medical officer Anthony Fauci said separately on Wednesday that “the baby would get antibodies to the virus through the placenta during pregnancy,” which persist for a few months after birth, he said. Fauci also said in an interview with Axios that mothers can transmit their Covid antibodies while breastfeeding, which extends their babies’ immunity.
Children under the age of 12 “could likely be vaccinated by the end of calendar year 2021 and no later than the first quarter of 2022,” he said.
CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told lawmakers that “Vaccines are coming for adolescents, they are doing dose de-escalation studies that are now up to 9 years old, soon after that up to 6, then up to 3, then up to 6 months. I hope until to have more by late autumn and the end of the year. “
Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), listens during a Senate Fund Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday May 19, 2021 in Washington, DC, United States.
Greg Nash | Bloomberg | Getty Images
