Tell Me More About the COVID-19 Vaccine!

Evidence and Decision-Making Resources

We hope these resources will help you to make your decision. You are always welcome to use the team email to contact your midwives, or to discuss in person at your next routine prenatal appointment. As with all things COVID, information is changing quickly – we will do our best to keep you apprised of all major changes.

If you are not already, consider following us on facebook and instagram for timely updates. The resources below, and all future resources, can also be found on the resources tab of our website.

Pregnant people are five times more likely to end up hospitalized and in the intensive care unit if they become sick with COVID (this is particularly true in the second and third trimester).

While pregnant people were not involved in the initial vaccine clinical trials (where they compare a group of people who got the vaccine with those who did not), there is now a large COVID vaccine registry of pregnant folks (35,000) that indicates the vaccine is effective in pregnancy, has no increased risk of adverse outcomes (the only thing they found more commonly in pregnant people was more likelihood of pain at the injection site), and finally they found no increase in the rates of pregnancy related complications.  https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-vaccine-appears-be-safe-during-pregnancy-large-cdc-report-n1264881

Timing of Vaccine

If you have recently had the TDaP, flu, or any other vaccine, please book your COVID vaccine for 2 weeks after. If you are planning to get the TDaP or any other vaccine, please book them for at least 2 weeks after your COVID vaccine (previous recommendation was for 4 weeks, but has now been updated to 2 weeks).

The current recommendation is to have the COVID vaccine as early in pregnancy as possible, because people in their 2nd and 3rd trimesters are at the highest risk of serious illness. There is no contraindication to having the vaccine in the first trimester. At this time, pregnant people have been designated for a 16 week vaccine dose interval.

How to Book Your COVID-19 Vaccine

As of April 23, 2021 all pregnant people are considered highest-risk of COVID-19, and are now eligible to receive the vaccine. One “caregiver” is also allowed to get the vaccine with you. You can visit this link to book your vaccine at THP (Pfizer). You can also access the Moderna and Astra Zeneca vaccines through provincial booking, or your local pharmacy. All 3 vaccines have been deemed appropriate for pregnant people.

**You will need your OHIP card to book. If you do not have an OHIP card, please email your midwives so we can help you access the vaccine.**