Women can now receive Covid-19 vaccine at any stage of pregnancy under new Niac advice

Pregnant women had been one of the largest remaining holdout cohorts for the vaccination programme, with that low uptake one of the chief reasons cited for the ongoing restrictions on partners attending maternity appointments at the country’s hospitals. Picture: Pexels

Pregnant women can now be given the Covid-19 vaccine at any stage of pregnancy, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said, after receiving updated advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac).

Separately, people with compromised immune systems aged 12 years and upwards are also set to receive an additional vaccine dose.

The two updates follow recommendations delivered by Niac to Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan. He has endorsed that advice.

Earlier this year, Niac recommended that pregnant women be offered an mRNA vaccine (such as Pfizer or Moderna) between 14 and 36 weeks’ gestation only.

Niac said it had updated this recommendation “based on the growing body of evidence on the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccination”.

“The evidence clearly indicates that the benefits of vaccination outweigh any known or potential risks of Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy,” it said.

Mr Donnelly said he was “aware” that pregnant women and their partners “will have questions about this update”.

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“I encourage anyone who has any concerns to engage with their obstetric care team and the many trusted sources of information available in order to make the best decision for you and your baby,” he said.

Pregnant women had been one of the largest remaining holdout cohorts for the vaccination programme, with that low uptake one of the chief reasons cited for the ongoing restrictions on partners attending maternity appointments at the country’s hospitals.

The decision to offer an additional dose of an mRNA vaccine – the first move in the Government’s booster shot campaign – to immunocompromised individuals will apply regardless of what form of vaccine those people received initially. 

That shot is to be delivered a minimum of two months after each person’s last dose during the initial vaccine programme.