Petersburg began vaccination of pregnant women against coronavirus

In the clinic of the First State Medical University. I.P. Pavlova began vaccinating pregnant women against coronavirus, TASS reports.

Pregnant women in St. Petersburg are allowed to be vaccinated with Sputnik V. The chief freelance specialist in obstetrics and gynecology of the Smolny Health Committee, Vitaly Bezhenar, noted that he especially calls for pregnant women from risk groups to be vaccinated. First of all, these are women with chronic diseases of the lungs, kidneys, liver, cardiovascular system, as well as diabetes and obesity. “This is the first cohort that is recommended to be vaccinated after 22 weeks so that in the event of an infection, the risks for the pregnant woman and her unborn child are not realized in severe forms,” Bezhenar explained to reporters.

Formerly Head of the Department of Operative Gynecology of the National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology named after M. Academician V.I. Kulakova of the Russian Ministry of Health Leyla Adamyan said that studies have proven that immunity is transmitted to the child, “so that vaccination becomes insurance not only for the mother, but also for the baby.” The expert noted that it is possible to be vaccinated against COVID-19 both before and during pregnancy. Observations on 100,000 women who were vaccinated without knowing they were pregnant did not show a single negative effect. Also, according to Adamyan, the mechanisms of vertical transmission of the infection have not been found in the coronavirus. Thus, if a pregnant woman gets sick with COVID-19, the virus will not infect either the fetus or the placenta.

According to Smolny, on September 13, more than 1.5 people in St. Petersburg completed vaccination, and the same number received the first dose of the vaccine. On September 9, the vice-governor of the city, Oleg Ergashev, announced that herd immunity in St. Petersburg would be achieved within a month, when 60% of the population would be vaccinated.