'A gap to close': Pregnant Ontarians still lag behind in COVID-19 vaccination rates, despite higher risk from virus
When Holland Landing resident Cyndi Brown found out in April that she was pregnant, she was at first hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Immediately, I started thinking, am I going to get the vaccine or not?” Brown told CTV News Toronto. She wasn’t anti-vax, per se, she said, but she certainly wasn’t sure.
“I felt, if there were going to be any adverse reactions toward the fetus, I don’t know how I would forgive myself.”
But after speaking with her doctor and learning more about the mRNA vaccine, Brown came to the conclusion that the benefits outweighed any undescribed risk.
“It was a scary decision to make,” Brown said. “But I made it because I was being told all the time, it’s worse to catch COVID-19, unvaccinated, being pregnant.”
Brown was among a sizeable group of pregnant Ontarians hesitant to get immunized against the virus; despite being classified as “highest-risk,” and warned against a higher chance of hospitalization, need for critical care, premature delivery and even death, pregnant individuals still have a relatively low rate of COVID-19 vaccination.
Only 60 per cent of pregnant patients in Ontario were fully vaccinated as of Oct. 3, according to the ICES COVID-19 dashboard—much lower than the 81 per cent of the general eligible population at that time.
“It is certainly quite a bit lower than full coverage in the general population,” said Dr. Deshayne Fell, associate professor with the University of Ottawa’s School of Epidemiology and Public Health.
“We know that we still have a gap to close, and we know that it’s a really important gap to close because the risks of getting COVID-19 in pregnancy are real,” Dr. Jennifer Blake, CEO of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) said Wednesday.
Holland Landing resident Cyndi Brown was initially hesitant to get vaccinated against COVID-19 while pregnant, but decided that the benefits outweighed any risk
Ontario’s Ministry of Health recommends COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible for people in any stage of pregnancy, warning that infection while expecting can be severe.
“If you are pregnant and you get COVID-19, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy when the lungs are already being compressed by your belly, you are going to have a much tougher time with any respiratory infection,” Blake said. “Your life is at greater risk.”
According to figures released Monday, one in five of the most critically-ill COVID-19 patients in the U.K. were unvaccinated pregnant women. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently issued an urgent health advisory recommending the vaccine to pregnant patients, because barely a quarter of pregnant Americans had received any doses of the vaccine while expecting.
Toronto family medicine obstetrics provider Dr. Tali Bogler, who co-founded the social media platform Pandemic Pregnancy Guide, stresses that that data support the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy.
“We have large data sets, almost 80,000 individuals who have received the vaccine during their pregnancy,” Bogler said. “Some of these babies are now six months of age, and overall there are no red flags in terms of safety issues in terms of the pregnancy itself, leading to more miscarriages or pre-term births, or any congenital abnormalities in the children.”
Now 33 weeks pregnant, Cyndi Brown is thankful she chose to be immunized in her first trimester.
“It amazes me that I was even hesitant in the first place, because he’s fine, he’s absolutely fine,” she said of her baby. “I’m so relieved, because now antibodies will be passed onto him.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
'I just want to be safe': Ukrainian man in Canada faces limbo amid consular freeze
A recent decision to restrict consular services for fighting-aged Ukrainian men has made a Ukrainian man in Canada feel less certain of his next steps — and worried he could be pulled back to the war.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.