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  • 2022-05-06 (xsd:date)
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  • No, New Pfizer Docs Don't Show That Vaccines Are Unsafe During Pregnancy (en)
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  • In May 2022, as the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic surpassed 1 million in the United States, many social media users continued to sow doubt about vaccines by making a series of unfounded and untrue claims related to new documents released by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of a federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. One of the most popular claims was that the newly released documents showed how Pfizer had lied about the vaccine being safe during pregnancy and for breastfeeding mothers. This claim was based on a screenshot that social media users falsely claimed came from the new documents. In reality, this screenshot shows a portion of a page published by Britain's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in December 2020. While the screenshot accurately showed the MHRA's assessment at the time, health officials in Britain have since determined that the vaccines are safe for both pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. The pictured passage does not come from the newly released Pfizer docs but from a page on the MHRA website. More importantly, while the MHRA did once state that the COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine ... is not recommended during pregnancy, this warning was issued in December 2020, just as the vaccines were being released. The agency has since revisited and removed this warning. On April 30, 2021, the FDA released an analysis of adverse events related to the COVID-19 vaccine in response to a FOIA request by the group Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency (PHMPT). While we found a few mentions of breastfeeding and pregnancy in this document, the above-displayed screenshot does not come from this report. The advice in this screenshot can be seen in an archive version of the MHRA website on Dec. 8, 2020. A month later, as health agencies learned more about the effects of the vaccine, the MHRA revised this section to remove the recommendation to pregnant women to not to get vaccinated. The MHRA revised this language to state that the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy should only be considered when the potential benefits outweigh any potential risks for the mother and foetus. A spokesperson for the agency told Reuters: This screenshot also is not evidence that Pfizer was hiding or lying about the vaccine's effect on pregnant women because the screenshot does not come from Pfizer documents. If this screenshot is evidence of anything, it's that health officials were cautious and concerned about safety when these vaccines were being rolled out. They didn't immediately recommend the vaccines for pregnant women, but waited until they were confident that the benefits of taking the vaccines greatly outweighed any risks. In sum, this rumor is based on years-old health advice that has since been revised. As of this writing in May 2022, health officials recommend pregnant women get the COVID-19 vaccine. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) writes: (en)
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