Covid Vaccine at 27 Weeks - what to do?!

[MintGreenLife]

I was called by my GP today to say they have been instructed to offer the jab to all pregnant patients. I'm 27+3 today, so just about to enter the third trimester when it's suggested that you can suffer more serious illness with Covid. I'm due on the 1st of August.

I am completely torn about what to do. On the one hand knowing I have some protection against covid and that maybe the baby would have some protection too would be a real weight off my mind, but at the same time, how on earth can I be sure that having the jab might not have long term implications for baby, surely there is no way of knowing?!

I work from home, get click and collect for food shop, order most things online. Have been meeting up with family outdoors since it's been allowed, in laws are jabbed. Only main concern at the moment is my SIL is expecting and due in 2 weeks, and so main possible risk would be from DH holding his new niece/nephew, who may very well be held by lots of other people! I myself have no underlying health conditions, normal BMI etc. This is my first baby.

Would love to know what everyone else is thinking/will be doing?!

[quote Smurf123]@BabyC21 did you get Pfizer? Where are you that you got the second dose 4 weeks after the first??
I'm due to get my first dose today.. I was hoping I could ask them could they bring my second dose forward - they automatically book it for 10 weeks after first where I am. But that will have me at 37.5 weeks and bearing in mind I ds was born at exactly 37 weeks id quite like to have the second a week or 2 before that point just in case [/quote]
Yep I got Pfizer. I’m in Ireland and we do Pfizer and Moderna 4 weeks apart, only AstraZeneca is done 12 weeks apart. I know in the UK it’s different though

@Daffodil21 glad to hear you are getting on well ☺️ I keep convincing myself one way and then coming up with an argument against it all over again. Something that I did read this morning that I found helpful is that at one point the flu jab and whooping cough didn’t have any safety data regarding vaccination in pregnancy. They used the info they had and decided they ‘should’ be safe in pregnancy and weighed up the risk factors. Obviously now they are routinely recommended, I’ve had both myself. Also like whooping cough and flu jabs, the Covid jab isn’t a live vaccination and is meant to be broken down by your system within hours so in theory shouldn’t get anywhere near the baby and no way of actually infecting the baby with Covid. Of course there’s still that small risk factor of the long term impact of having the jab because of there not being any long term data, but from what I understand that was the case with the flu jab and whooping cough jab at one stage also x

@BabyC21 I’m booked in for Pfizer. Did you have any side effects at all?

@MintGreenLife I completely understand. That was the thinking here too until recently but unfortunately in Ireland we have had a number of stillbirths and late miscarriages due to mothers getting covid. These mothers were healthy and only had mild covid or no symptoms at all. It’s something called covid placentitis, I don’t want to scare anyone it’s very rare but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be the case of underlying conditions determining outcomes. I still fully respect everyone’s decision to get or not get the vaccine but we have about 50,000 pregnant women a year in Ireland, so about 15,000 in the first 3 months of the year of which obviously only a small percentage got covid (I don’t have that figure) 11 got covid placentitis, 7 of which lost their babies and 4 had intervention to have early deliveries thankfully with good outcomes though. Of course lots of women had no complications of covid though, so I’m not trying to scaremonger. Just think it’s important people realise it was ruled as a direct cause of losing the babies in these instances as all were determined healthy and fully formed it was down to the placenta failing due to covid

[quote MintGreenLife]@BabyC21 I’m booked in for Pfizer. Did you have any side effects at all?[/quote]
No side effects from first jab other than a sore arm. From the second jab, I got some muscle aches and chills that only started 24 hours after the jab but they started mid afternoon, I went to bed at 10 with 2 paracetamol and woke up at midnight (to pee as usual 😂) feeling completely normal again and have been fine since, so I had maybe 6 hours of just feeling a bit off

@BabyC21 thanks I'm in the north of Ireland so we are different yet again! I decided to go for it. So just had Pfizer there and next one is scheduled for 10 weeks though they said I can email and ask about bringing it forward but might not be possible

The good thing is with your first dose you are 80% covered after 2 weeks. Second dose brings that up to 96% and boosts the immunity so it doesn’t decline. So really the most coverage is from the first dose.

I'm booked for Wednesday Wednesday still v much on the fence. I think that, on balance, I'll trust the science over a disease that affects people so differently for seemingly no rhyme or reason. I'm heavily pregnant now so hoping they have the right vaccine on Weds or it might become too late for me to have it and the decision taken out of my hands.
I'm also nervous about being in hospital having the baby and picking it up then, especially as things will be opening up from May 17 and cases will undoubtedly increase.

@MyBabyBoyBlue I called up the number on the vaccine letter and the told me which vaccine I would get.

Thanks @sky181 - I've just watched it all and it has put me a little more at ease.

@MintGreenLife yes exactly the same here!! The video above helped, hearing expert opinions.

@BabyC21 I've read about that too, and keep thinking of it when I'm trying to decide.

@Smurf123 glad the decision making is over for you! I think I will end up taking it too (Waves hello from the other board 👋)

@sky181 that's amazing! I called my GP and 119 and even the vaccine centre and none of them could tell me which vaccine I'd be getting, it was very much "we will have to see what we get on the day"!

@BabyC21 that’s so sad and really terrifying, I read about that on another thread. What I don’t understand is how having the jab protects against this though. I might be wrong but I’m fairly certain the jab helps prevent you from getting ill from COVID, but not from contracting it. So if some of the women who sadly had such a terrible outcome had COVID but were asymptotic, I don’t get how having the jab makes a difference in those circumstances. I may be completely wrong and perhaps I don’t understand how it works properly. Would really like to be told otherwise and perhaps you understand it better than I do?

@MyBabyBoyBlue I think I’m on the same page as you - leaning towards trusting the science and getting the jab. I’m worried about that also, contracting COVID during birth and being unable to look after my newborn. The only thing that keeps playing on my mind is the fact that once you’ve had the jab, that’s that, you’ve been exposed to it, whereas with COVID in my case anyway the risk of contracting it is really low, so may very well not being exposed to COVID or the jab in the end if I decided not to have the jab. Does that make sense? Feel like I’m not explaining it very well!

@MintGreenLife that is exactly how i feel - having the vaccine is a choice I'm making whereas whether I catch covid is out of my control. And once that jab goes in my arm, that's that, there's nothing I can do about it!

@MyBabyBoyBlue it’s stressful how final the decision is! Like I worry if I don’t have the jab done next Saturday, and then change my mind, will I get the opportunity again during my pregnancy? I’m not even clear on why I’ve been offered it at this stage as my age group in the local area aren’t being offered it yet x

@MintGreenLife you are right and it’s a good point. I’m not a scientist or doctor but my understanding is the vaccine stops you getting COVID-19 which is the disease caused by the coronavirus. The figures are a bit all over the place but a small amount of people will still contract the coronavirus if exposed. Then if they are exposed the vaccine stops it developing in to covid-19 for the vast majority of those people. A very small percentage would still develop COVID-19 but have very mild symptoms. Asymptomatic unvaccinated people however would have COVID-19 but just not be I’ll from it.
In short - vaccine reduces your chance greatly of getting coronavirus if exposed. Then if you do still get coronavirus the vaccine greatly reduces the chance of it turning in to the disease covid-19.
That’s my understanding anyway but somebody with a scientific or medical background may be able to explain it better.

Your immune system is strengthened during the first trimester to ensure your body doesn't reject the baby - but it's subsequently weakened after that. I think it then naturally strengthens again around delivery time. So if you're around 28 weeks, your immune system won't be functioning at its best.

I had my baby in October before the vaccine, but I think I would get it if I had the choice. They are pretty transparent about what is in the vaccine and I don't think they would advise pregnant women to get it if they thought it would have any adverse outcomes.

I totally get your uncertainty though, I'll still be breastfeeding when I get the vaccine and I've had the back and forth in my head as well. It's a tough one!

@MintGreenLife I had the same worry - I am in group 6 so should have had my jab months ago but didn't because at the time they were not recommending pregnant women get the vaccine - but now the advice has changed I feel on balance I should (and haven't had a problem booking an appointment months after I was eligible, so hopefully you wouldn't either if you decided to wait).

One takeaway I found useful from the Pregnant the Screwed webinar with Stella Creasy was that one of the doctors said yes they may not know long term effects of having the vaccine, but the same is true for covid and that they're running brain scans on babies born to mothers who had covid during pregnancy to assess that. Given how much we know about vaccines (and the mRNA technology which isn't new, although not been licensed for vaccine use before), I think it is probably a safer bet than risking whatever covid might do to you.

Also, the covid placentitis news from Ireland is very concerning, especially as it has been seen even in women with mild symptoms.

@otterbaby It’s actually weakened in the first trimester too and all throughout pregnancy, as you say so that your body does not reject baby. If it was strengthened in the first trimester it would fight baby off as a ‘foreign body’... doesn’t matter in the context of your post but just so that nobody gets the impression they have a stronger immune system :) in the first trimester a fever has a greater chance to cause a miscarriage or issues in development. That’s why the vaccine is not recommended in first trimester as some women may get a fever as a side effect

@otterbaby I may be wrong but I'm not sure it's true your immune system is strengthened in the first trimester to prevent your body rejecting a baby... I've had 3 MCs so was put on prednisolone which suppresses your immune system, so that my body didn't reject a pregnancy. I'm not in the medical field at all though.

It's such a hard decision isn't it! I sort of wish the decision was made for us, although it's good that we do have the choice

I'm 29 weeks today and I just don't know what to do! I was offered the jab by my surgery when I was about 18 weeks but they retracted the offer when they realised I was pregnant 🙄
Now I'd have to contact my surgery if I wanted the jab. I change my mind on this daily! I'm not working now so no risk there but we are seeing friends etc. Cases are low where i live as well.
It's just hard to know what the right choice is when there isn't a right answer

Hello - for all those who have been offered the jab recently, has it been because you are pregnant? I haven’t been offered the jab yet (am under 40) and desperately want it before baby is due. Am wondering whether to ask GP?

@BabyC21 what you’ve said makes a lot of sense, thanks for explaining ☺️

@otterbaby I’m exactly 28 weeks today, very pleased to be in the third trimester, but then makes the worry about COVID all the more real. Think I’m leaning towards having the vaccine done.

@MyBabyBoyBlue that’s a very good point, both situations have risks, but I guess with the jab it’s somewhat more controlled and at least we do have a pretty good idea that it should be safe.

@Daffodil21 I know I find that hard too. With the flu and whooping cough jab they are recommended, and so that was easy for me as didn’t hesitate to have those thinking it would offer both me and baby extra protection. I’ve had to take a few medications in pregnancy where I’ve basically been told it was up to me and agonised over the decision every time. I’m much better if someone can just say to me ‘you need to take this/have this for the sake of you/baby’.

@Baker0104 I keep thinking this, that cases are low, I’m working from home and so on, but with everything reopening you can’t know that cases won’t go up again, and then I think what if that happens and I can’t get the jab any time soon, I’d be kicking myself for not taking up the offer now. It’s all so complex 🤦🏻‍♀️

@Bathmatt I just had a call this week from my GP saying they had been instructed to offer all their pregnant patients the jab. I’m 32 and my age group hasn’t been called forward yet, so only reason I’ve been offered it must be due to pregnancy x

I've just had my first dose of the Pfizer. Really really hope this was the right thing to do!!