Large study confirms flu vaccine safe in pregnancy
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photos
In this Oct 29, 2009, file photo, Ms Nicole Andreacchio (second right), who is seven months pregnant, waits in line to receive the swine flu vaccine from the Montgomery County Health Department at Congregation Beth Or in Maple Glen, Pennsylvania. A large study released by the New England Journal of Medicine on Jan 16, 2013, offers reassuring news for pregnant women worried about getting a flu shot. The research found no evidence that the vaccine increases the risk of losing a foetus, and may prevent some foetal deaths. -- PHOTO: AP
NEW YORK (AP) - A large study offers reassuring news for pregnant women: It's safe to get a flu shot.
The research found no evidence that the vaccine increases the risk of losing a foetus, and may prevent some deaths. Getting the flu while pregnant makes foetal death more likely, the Norwegian research showed.
The flu vaccine has long been considered safe for pregnant women and their foetus. United States (US) health officials began recommending flu shots for them more than five decades ago, following a higher death rate in pregnant women during a flu pandemic in the late 1950s.
But the study is perhaps the largest look at the safety and value of flu vaccination during pregnancy, experts say.
