Czech health experts now recommend Covid-19 vaccination for pregnant women

In its latest report from late August, the Czech Vaccinology Society of the Jan Evangelista Purkyně Czech Medical Association now directly recommends that pregnant women be vaccinated against Covid-19.

In June, the Society said vaccination was possible for pregnant women, but set some conditions such as no vaccination before the 12th week of pregnancy.

Experts primarily recommended the Covid-19 vaccination for pregnant women working in the healthcare system, those who suffer from asthma or diabetes, and those over 35 years of age.

To date, about 5.7 million Czech residents have been vaccinated. The data does not show how many pregnant women have been vaccinated.

"The benefit of vaccination for pregnant women is far higher than the theoretical risk of the vaccination. This is why the Society recommends the vaccination of pregnant women," the new report reads.

"One can vaccinate at any stage of pregnancy," it adds.

Pregnant women have a higher risk of a serious course of Covid-19, according to health experts. Vaccination is also recommended for women who are planning to become pregnant.

The Society said available data has shown that vaccination during pregnancy has been efficient in creating immunity, while no risks for the woman or fetus were known.

The vaccine has no known impact on the fertility of women or men, which is one of the false pieces of information commonly spread about Covid-19 vaccination.

The Society also recommended the vaccine to women who are breastfeeding.

"The antibodies created after vaccination get into breast milk, which may be beneficial for breast-fed children," the report said.

Until now, Czech doctors did not explicitly recommend vaccination for pregnant and breast-feeding women, referring to the lack of the relevant data on its impact.