Pregnancy & Vaccine Passports

[covidpreggers]

Off the back of the P&O cruises thread where a surprising about of people seem to be for vaccine passports for indoor activities in the U.K.

Where does/should that leave pregnant women who are unable to have the vaccine? Should they be exempt? Given the option of a negative 'quick' test instead? Or just be banned from these places all together?

Do you think there should be a different approach for people who can't have the vaccine, opposed to those who are refusing it?

I'm thinking of places where social distancing isn't easy. So things like; cinema, theatre, spas, soft play, festivals, flights, theme parks, etc.

For a bit of background I have a 15month old DD who spent the first 3 months of her life not very well and then the remaining 12months in lockdown.

Now I'm 7 weeks pregnant with my second so unable to get vaccinated. I was hoping to spend some time between restrictions lifting and the baby arriving making up for all the things we missed out on: going to soft play, and baby groups.

I'm also 'owed' a spa day, high tea and a theatre trip that got cancelled because of Covid.

Well pregnant women are pretty much banned from drinking alcohol and seem to manage quite well.

I'd imagine the Mat B certificate could be used as an exception for anything where a vaccine was required, people seem to manage to use it to get free prescriptions and dental care pretty well.

if pregnant women don't want to have the vaccine, which I find understandable, then I really don't think many of them will also want to risk infection on a cruise ship, norovirus if not covid!. Not to mention the nausea. Surely they are restricted after a certain amount of weeks anyway as with flying?

Honestly, I think for the next year, it's just going to be up to businesses to put in measures that they think will protect their staff, their customers and their business. A cruise company who has the majority of elderly customers most of whom will have been vaccinated can afford to put measures in place like this. Soft play where the majority of their customers are children and people who have recently been pregnant may decide to take a different approach. Until they have decided the approach I don't think we can get too stressed about what may be. I also don't think there should be different treatment for vaccine refusers to those with genuine reasons, the virus makes no distinction. And I appreciate I say this as someone who will have their second vaccination in April, but also as someone who is self employed and has spent the last year working in 5 different teams a work with v little social distancing possible due to space confines in a pharmacy dispensary, who has had to make tough decisions about cancelling shifts working with people who are mask exempt, as the risk to myself and to the rest of the weeks teams wasn't worth it.

It's not a don't want, it's a can't have.

They MAY give it to you if you are high risk, but if you aren't they won't give it to you.

Also drinking alcohol, especially when they are alternatives, is very different from not being able to go to play groups or soft play.

FYI: this is not about cruises. This is about day to day activities within the U.K. Like cinema, soft play, baby groups, spas.

Pregnant women if not having the vaccine will just have to wait til no longer pregnant and have had the vaccine.

Pregnancy isn't permanent, and travel abroad isn't essential. Just a matter of waiting a little longer.

Do you really think soft playsbarmet going to allow pregnant women in if they open, come on!

if unvaccinated pregnant women can't go there safely they just won't open.

And why would you want to increase your risk of getting covid when pregnant (surely a really bad thing) by spending an hour in a close confined, hot and sticky room with a load of other unvaccinated people? Seems insane to me.

Being pregnant is a PITA and requires sacrifice for the good of the baby, I've done it multiple times, this is more of that. And just like with their being alternative to drinking alcohol, their are alternative places to go and spend time in, including outdoors which would feel a lot safer to me this summer once everyone else is vaccinated and I wasn't.

I don't think there will be vaccine passports required in the UK on a significant level tbh. Certainly not this year as the economy gets up and going. For soft play etc children can't be vaccinated so I would be even more surprised if they introduced it. Cinema I think it's tough if every seat is being used because that's very close proximity for a long stretch of time.

I expect some people with covid won't isolate soon as they will think everyone is vaccinated and they can crack on with life, which makes places like the cinema much more risky for people who are not vaccinated. I'm not sure I would want to go to the cinema if I was pregnant and not vaccinated yet. But I had a baby summer last year and maybe that clouds my views.

I don’t think we’ll have vaccine passports for day to day life in the UK. But other countries might, and if we do then unvaccinated for whatever reason will have to wait until vaccinated. Hopefully there will still be the quarantine/test option for unvaccinated people.

I think drinking alcohol is a ridiculous comparison.

I agree with you, it would be appalling to introduce vaccine passports for domestic hospitality activities. However I’d hope the hospitality industry would lobby hard against this, particularly those that are reliant on families, because it’s going to take a while to get to young adults and even longer (if ever) before young children are vaccinated, plus it’s the demographic which is more likely to contain pregnant or breastfeeding women.

If you're little one was I'll and then in lockdown, I'm guessing you don't have much experience of soft plays? You may be looking at this through rose-tinted glasses. When I was at that stage of the game they were known as "the seventh circle of hell" and there was a lot of truth in that description! You may not be missing out on as much as you think!

Outdoor cafes with play areas or even coffee shops are much nicer.

Pregnancy is 9 months, it then takes 3 months to have both vaccines. So it's at least another year.

Not going abroad on holiday for 2 years is one thing, which I personally am not hugely fussed over. But not being able to take your children to soft play, the cinema or play groups for 2 years would be a completely different thing. Especially when for 1 of those years other people are able to do those things.

I honestly thought people on a mums forum would be more sympathetic and for testing as an alternative to those who are unable to get vaccinated.

Also, I would have loved to have left pregnancy until later, but time is not on my side.

@minchinfin

If you're little one was I'll and then in lockdown, I'm guessing you don't have much experience of soft plays? You may be looking at this through rose-tinted glasses. When I was at that stage of the game they were known as "the seventh circle of hell" and there was a lot of truth in that description! You may not be missing out on as much as you think!

Outdoor cafes with play areas or even coffee shops are much nicer.

Thanks for this. I don't have any experience, I just feel like it's a right of passage to experience these things with your children.

I do worry that my daughter sees time with me as 'boring' and nursery as 'fun'. Because restrictions mean I can't do the fun stuff with her that nursery can.

I know she's too young to notice. But if other kids are going out with there parents doing fun things but I can't do that with her it just feel like I'm failing her a little. Completely over dramatic, I know.

The government are currently reviewing vaccine passports. This was debated recently and MPs are were overwhelmingly not in favour of them

Watch the debate via link below

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/569957

Being pregnant is a PITA and requires sacrifice for the good of the baby

Yes, this. If you choose to become pregnant and therefore can't have the vaccine, then unfortunately you will need to make sacrifices.

There are so many other things that you can do, however, that don't involve crowded areas like soft play or the cinema.

The Government will probably not introduce vaccine passports. But private companies can and probably will introduce them due to their being a demand for them by their customers.

My prediction is that they'll change the advice soon. Don't be surprised if the regulators say the vaccine is safe in pregnancy.

On a serious note, totally understand your point of view and I think you have every right to be a bit dramatic and feel a bit sorry for yourself - I can't imagine how hard it was to spend the first year with your first baby in lockdown. I have lots of friends in this situation and I feel really sorry for what they have missed out on in terms of getting together with other new parents etc - I hope you are at least managing to meet people on zoom etc.

But please trust me, if you can't go to soft plays, which I'm not even convinced will be the case, it really won't be a huge loss for your little ones. I know it's hard in the winter, even pre covid it was, but see if you can find garden centres with play areas, nice cafes with kids areas etc. I think we spent most of our time in coffee shops when I look back. It's always hard thoug at this stage - at one point I had 3 under 5 so I do understand, there were many days when I just couldn't face going out at all as it was such hard work, and that was when I could go wherever I wanted. Soft plays are no great loss though - trust me! I don't think I ever came out of one without a worse headache than before I went in

@Violetlavenders

Being pregnant is a PITA and requires sacrifice for the good of the baby

Yes, this. If you choose to become pregnant and therefore can't have the vaccine, then unfortunately you will need to make sacrifices.

There are so many other things that you can do, however, that don't involve crowded areas like soft play or the cinema.

Sorry but as a healthy, low risk individual I don't buy the whole 'for the good of the baby'. Maybe if I was in a higher risk category, but that isn't the case.

Also if it's all about the risk to the baby surely I should be able to make an informed choice about it. Just like I can with alcohol, smoking, and diet?

I think one of the things that annoys me about this is that we’ve never required proof of vaccination in this country to access society even where it’s vaccination against diseases that are actually a threat to children, young people or pregnant women, such as measles, mumps and rubella. But some people can’t countenance the idea of anyone unvaccinated against covid being allowed to do the same things as them.

But surely your informed choice is not to smoke or drink (much)? Why are you doing that if not "for the good of the baby"?

If I was pregnant now I wouldn't step foot in a crowded indoor place with lots of other unvaccinated people if I hadn't been vaccinated, I have to say.

I think it will not be long until the vaccine is advised in pregnancy as more pregnant women get it and there is more evidence of whether it affects them or the baby. The issue is lack of data not that it is actually dangerous

@JeanClaudeVanDammit

I think one of the things that annoys me about this is that we’ve never required proof of vaccination in this country to access society even where it’s vaccination against diseases that are actually a threat to children, young people or pregnant women, such as measles, mumps and rubella. But some people can’t countenance the idea of anyone unvaccinated against covid being allowed to do the same things as them.

This is a really interesting thought.

Lovely to see so many posters in favour of (illegal) indirect discrimination against pregnant women.