Should pregnant women get vaccinated?
The positive signs are accumulating, but the information is still relatively scarce • In view of the growing number of pregnant women who have become seriously ill, the funds have changed policy and are calling for them to be vaccinated • There is no longer waiting in the field: "There is uncertainty and worry, gut feeling is the step"
The struggle in Corona:
The Israeli vaccination campaign is continuing at a high pace, but the accumulated information regarding the vaccination of pregnant women is still relatively small.
There are accumulating signs that it is worthwhile to vaccinate pregnant women, and at the same time the health funds have started calling for women to come and get vaccinated against the virus.
Maayan Yonatan - On Thursday, you will not be vaccinated yet:
"I would rather make an effort to be saved"
Maayan Yonatan, 29, from Afula, is now in the fifth month of her pregnancy.
She is following with concern the intense reports of pregnant women being infected in Corona while they and their fetus are in critical condition, and cannot remain indifferent.
However, she has decided that at this stage she will not take advantage of the new priority that seems to be vaccinating pregnant women.
"By and large I do think it's important to get vaccinated to get back to a normal lifestyle, family and friends, but because I'm pregnant I have more concerns," she explains, "We do not yet know how the vaccine affects a normal person and what its consequences are, we are in the middle of an experiment right now. Why should we participate in an experiment when our body also carries a fetus and it may endanger it? Beyond that I consulted with my family doctor, and she advised me not to get vaccinated right now. She did not tell me why, but recommended to wait. I guess it's to hear more reviews, but it I also light a red light. "
Maayan adds that she fears that the vaccine contains substances that could harm the fetus.
"Maybe there are particles in the vaccine that do no good to the fetus, like there are foods that are not recommended to eat during pregnancy?"
She wonders.
"And yet, we only hope to return soon to quieter and safer days. Until then, I recommend that we take care of ourselves even more and as much as possible. Stay away from people and if possible stay home, do not get crowds at work and make every effort to be saved. What happens to pregnant women now It's very stressful, but it still doesn't convince me to get vaccinated. "
Osnat Carmel - in the eighth month, debating:
"We will make a decision by the end of the week"
Osnat Carmel, 31, a resident of Rosh Tzurim in Gush Etzion, is in the late eighth month of her pregnancy and is debating whether to get vaccinated against Corona.
"Until now we thought I would be vaccinated after the pregnancy, but in view of the past week which shows that there are many cases of women in advanced pregnancy who have been in Corona and are in a difficult situation, we have another dilemma," Osnat said candidly.
"We have decided that by the end of the week we will make a decision. Some doctors say that the media is bloated and you can wait with the vaccine until after the pregnancy, and some say the opposite, that it is not worth the wait. The problem is that pregnant women who have been vaccinated against corona have not been tested. It is very stressful. "We are only with the nuclear family. We have been at home since the beginning of the closure."
Osnat consulted on the complex issue with several doctors and received different and contradictory opinions: "I am starting the ninth month of pregnancy. It is already towards the end of the pregnancy and it is not at all certain that I will get the second vaccine, if the birth precedes. The fear is from side effects. The danger of the vaccine for pregnant women. The main discussion is that there is a lack of information about pregnant women. We do not know if there will be harm to the fetus or damage to fertility. This lack of information causes great hesitation. My gut feeling is that I will get vaccinated. I know what corona causes at the end of pregnancy. "It's scary. If I go vaccinated, it will be by the end of the week."
Bar Nasimian - On Wednesday, you will get vaccinated: "I will get vaccinated in the coming days"
Bar Nasimian, 29, has decided to get vaccinated against the corona, even though she is in her fourth month of pregnancy.
Bar, a resident of Dolev at the Benjamin headquarters, described the reasons that led her to overcome the fears on the way to receiving the vaccine.
"I have asthma, and in light of articles published about pregnant women who had no background illnesses at a young age, contracted corona and got into a state that deteriorated until they had to connect to soul machines - it made me feel like I had to protect myself."
She added: "What is worrying is that I have not heard of anyone who is pregnant and vaccinated. There is uncertainty and ignorance. I do not know how this vaccine will affect later. At first I did not think about getting vaccinated and also read that Israel is a Pfizer trial country, and that scared me a bit. I wanted to contribute my body to science. "
On the other hand, says Bar: "I have heard that there are pregnant women who get the corona hard, including healthy pregnant women. It seems to me that pregnancy is another risk factor for corona, and especially I, who have asthma, am even more afraid."
Bar sought good advice on the subject: "I contacted groups on Facebook of pregnant women. Some told me they were not going to get vaccinated in any way, and some were thinking of getting vaccinated. Their answers convinced me to go get vaccinated. If I can make an appointment and agree to vaccinate me, I will get vaccinated in the coming days. The HMOs will decide that the right thing for pregnant women is to get vaccinated, we should be given priority over age groups. "