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ASRM, CDC recommend influenza A (H1N1) vaccine for pregnant women
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American Society for Reproductive Medicine 65th Annual Meeting
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine and CDC have released a joint statement recommending that pregnant women and women anticipating pregnancy receive the influenza A (H1N1) vaccine as soon as it becomes available to them.
Further, the statement also recommends that fertility clinics encourage women planning a pregnancy to be vaccinated for both seasonal influenza and influenza A (H1N1).
The vaccine is recommended because pregnant women with influenza A (H1N1) have higher rates of hospitalization and death than the general population.
However, certain areas may only have the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) vaccine available for pregnant women, caregivers of infants aged younger than 6 months, health care workers, children and young adults aged 6 months to 24 years and people with high-risk medical conditions aged 25 to 64 years. The statement acknowledges that women women who are planning a pregnancy may need to wait for a few weeks until more vaccine becomes available.
Additionally, pregnant women should receive the inactivated vaccine, not the live vaccine. Women who are planning a pregnancy and have no preexisting medical contraindications can receive the live vaccine up to one month before conceiving or the inactivated vaccine at any time before conceiving.
For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ or www.flu.gov.
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