A multistate study showed vaccinating people for COVID-19 during pregnancy reduces health risks, but pregnant people in Indiana are less likely than people from other states to be vaccinated.
The study used data from nine states, including data from Indiana submitted by the Regenstrief Institute. Brian Dixon, director of the institute’s Center for Biomedical Informatics, co-authored the study. He said that COVID-19 can have severe effects on pregnant people.
“It can make the pregnant person very sick, sick enough to be in the hospital,” Dixon said. “Which of course can then lead to other complications.”
Dixon said the complications include preterm labor or stillbirth. The study showed vaccines given during pregnancy reduce risk of COVID-19-related emergency department visits by half.
But the study also showed long gaps between vaccination and pregnancy reduced protection. A six-month or longer gap only decreased emergency department risk by 6 percent.
According to the study, pregnant Hoosiers are half as likely to have received a COVID-19 vaccine compared to people in other states. Dixon said this means pregnant Hoosiers need emergency care for the disease more often.
“I think our population of pregnant persons is at higher risk for complications due to COVID-19,” he said. “The disease has not gone away; we still see people getting sick from it now.”
Read more: 'We're just wishing it away:' experts urge people to get COVID vaccine amid surge