Summary:
Pregnant women and neonates are at risk of severe and com-plicated course of influenza and pertussis infection. Vaccination of pregnant women against pertussis (vaccine with acellular pertussis component) is safe and thanks to the transplacental transfer of vaccine antibodies from the pregnant woman to the fetus, it provides 90% protection against whooping cough in infants up to 2 months of age. The children of mothers vaccinated against whooping cough during pregnancy suffer from whooping cough significantly less often. In Poland, vaccination against pertussis is recommended for pregnant women after 27 weeks of pregnancy, until 36 weeks of pregnancy. Studies on influenza vaccination of pregnant women have shown a reduction in the risk of respiratory symptoms, fever and a re-duction in the risk of getting flu in the first 6 months of life of children whose mothers were vaccinated during pregnancy. Inactivated influenza vaccine has been given to millions of pregnant women around the world and it has been proven that the vaccine has no harmful effects on the mother and the fetus. Pregnant women can be vaccinated throughout pregnancy, regardless of the trimester. Due to the current epidemiological situation, many scientific societies recommend immunization against COVID-19 to pregnant women. There is growing scien-tific evidence that COVID-19 mRNA vaccine is safe and effective for pregnant women and fetuses. Contraindicated during pregnancy is the use of vaccines containing live, attenuated microorganisms and vaccines with information on the contraindication in the Summary of Product Characteristics. The vaccination coverage of pregnant women in Poland is unsatisfactory, which is mainly due to the low awareness of pregnant women about the risks of infection during pregnancy, as well as the lack of recommendations from healthcare professionals.
Keywords: vaccine, pregnancy, influenza, pertussis, COVID-19, coverage
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