Whether or not to Administer the Covid-19 vaccine to pregnant women is a big debate in the current scenario. To bring awareness to this issue and to discuss the Dilemma about Covid-19 in pregnant women a zoom meeting was held by INDIAN FERTILITY SOCIETY – PUNJAB CHAPTER. Under the able leadership and guidance of national president IFS DR. Sudha Prasad & President of IFS Punjab Chapter Dr. Sarabjeet Singh, the meeting was conducted by Secretary IFS Dr. Sukriti Sharma.
Covid -19 Pandemic is an evolving situation and the whole world is fighting against a common enemy.
This meeting was joined by Experts from the Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar -Ahmedabad – Epidemiologist Dr. Deepak Saxena and Vaccine expert Dr. Anish Sinha. Also, an expert panel of gynecologists from Delhi, Patiala, Aligarh, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana joined this meeting like Dr. KD Nayyar, Prof Tamkin Khan, Dr. Harinder Oberoi, Dr. Surjit Kaur, Dr. Sushma Chawla, Dr. Amita Sharma, Dr. Kamal Gupta, Dr. HK Cheema, Dr. Shail Kaur, Dr. Monika Verma, Dr. Archana beri amongst many others.
Dr. Bathla, secretary IMA added that Covid Vaccine in breastfeeding mothers is completely safe and should be given.
As experts in this meeting discussed, in pregnant women, the covid vaccine must be administered as the risk of infection and morbidity due to covid in pregnancy is high. The benefits of the vaccine are more than the risks involved. Studies have shown after vaccination, antibodies secreted in breastmilk provide immunity to the newborn. Treatment of a covid positive patient with pregnancy and the safety of antiviral medicine were discussed in detail. Also, issues like the management of Covid positive women during delivery were discussed and doubts of the audience clarified.
But it is worthwhile to note that the Government of India, has still not given guidelines and does not allow vaccination in pregnant women.
Up to 100 doctors from all over India attended this meeting.