FOGSI GUIDELINES FOR COVID VACCINATION FOR FEMALES

Introduction

COVID vaccination is essential for combating the pandemic, offering protection against severe illness and transmission of the virus. Here are some steps of covid vaccination.

1. Women can receive vaccine on any day of the menstrual cycle and even during menstruation.
2. Women can take vaccine at any point of time even before a pregnancy is confirmed; even while trying to conceive; while taking treatment to conceive. There is no basis for deferring or delaying pregnancy or infertility treatments for taking vaccine and there is no evidence that vaccine administration affects fertility or increases miscarriage rates.
3.  It is not recommended to test for pregnancy before vaccination.
4.  Vaccine administered inadvertently to a pregnant woman does not have any known teratogenic or harmful effects on the baby. And the risk of the congenital anomalies does not rise above the base line level. So the women who are vaccinated in this manner should not be advised to terminate the pregnancy.
   However it would be prudent to defer vaccination in the first trimester.
5. A pregnant woman faces greater risks in pregnancy if she is infected with covid-19; so it is advisable to take the vaccine even if there is past infection but the vaccine should be deferred for 12 weeks from the infection or 4 to 8 weeks from recovery.
6. Pregnant women with co morbidities will have better protective effect of the vaccine. So there is no need to avoid vaccination for the pregnant women with co morbidities. However pregnant women with such problems should have thorough concelling with their gynecologist prior to vaccination.
7. Breastfeeding women must be vaccinated as per the usual method and schedule of the general population. In fact, there is a possible benefit from the passage of antibodies to the new born child.

Contraindications for vaccination in women:

1. Allergic reaction to previous dose of vaccine.
2. Diagnosed covid 19 infection; it should be delayed for 12 weeks from infection or 4 to 8 weeks from the recovery.
3.  Active symptoms like covid 19 infection.