According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there’s been an alarming number of total COVID-19 cases among those who are pregnant in the United States. This includes around 23,000 hospitalized and 200 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

Getting the vaccine would greatly lower the risk of getting the disease, so why don’t all pregnant women get it?

One large factor of the problem is the spread of false information regarding the vaccine that fuels fears of infertility and other bad side effects. Unfortunately, these myths have discouraged many pregnant women from receiving the shot. 

WJPS teacher Ms. Bonanni said, “I understand why an expectant mother might be hesitant to get the vaccine, but I’m counting down the days until my three-year-old son can get vaccinated. If there was a way that I could get the antibodies to him, I’d do it in a heartbeat. In the womb, babies are protected and safe. But once they’re out, a mother needs to think about any way they can to possibly protect them. This is a great place to start.” 

WJPS senior Eltzy Galindo said, “It would be great if everyone could do their part to protect pregnant people so we can see the number of deaths go down. It would be another step towards the end of COVID-19.” 

We must all contribute effort to the cause by starting meaningful conversations about the importance of getting vaccinated to the people around us and public health leaders can make the shots more accessible for pregnant women to get them.

“pregnant” by summerbl4ck is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0