We’ve been asked on WhatsApp how long pregnant women should wait between getting their routine vaccines in pregnancy, and getting a Covid-19 vaccine.
The guidance from NHS England is to wait seven days between the Covid vaccine and any other vaccination you might get during pregnancy (not including the anti-D injection). It says: “If there are side effects from either vaccine, it will then be possible to know which vaccine was the cause of them.”
There are a number of routine vaccines pregnant women are advised to get, such as those against seasonal flu and whooping cough. You are more likely to suffer flu complications if you are pregnant.
Whooping cough can be very dangerous for infants, but vaccinated pregnant women pass on the antibodies against it to their baby, giving them protection against the disease before they get their routine childhood vaccination against it at eight weeks.
The anti-D injection
Pregnant women who are at risk of rhesus disease (where the mother has antibodies in her blood that can destroy her baby’s blood cells, leading to anemia and jaundice) may be given an injection of medication to prevent this. This is known as routine antenatal anti-D prophylaxis, or the anti-D injection.
NHS England says you can have your Covid vaccine “at any time in relation to the anti-D injection.”
Having the Covid vaccine during pregnancy
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) told us: “It is important to have the flu vaccine as well as the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy. The NHS is advising waiting one week between receiving the different vaccines against flu and COVID-19. We would encourage all pregnant women to have any routine vaccines and the COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves and their babies against illness.”
It previously told Full Fact that as far as timings between Covid vaccine doses, in the UK, second doses are given eight to 12 weeks after the first dose, with high risk people being able to bring their second dose forward to eight weeks. While pregnant women are not currently included in this group, the RCOG recommended contacting your GP or the National Booking System to see if the second dose can be brought forward to eight weeks.
The Covid-19 vaccine is now recommended in pregnancy in the UK. Several studies have shown that severe Covid illness is more likely for women who are pregnant than those who aren’t, especially for those in the third trimester.
There is more real-world safety data from the US in pregnant women for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, so the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (part of Public Health England which advises the government on who gets vaccinated, with what and when) advises that those vaccines be offered in pregnancy.