Pfizer and Biontec test Covid-19 vaccine in pregnant women

Pfizer and Biontech said, on Thursday, that they have started an international study of 4,000 volunteers to assess the safety and efficacy of their vaccine to prevent Covid-19 in healthy pregnant women.

Pregnant women are more likely to develop severe symptoms of "Covid-19", and many public health officials have recommended that some women working in high-risk occupations take vaccinations even without evidence that they are safe for them.

The US National Institutes of Health called last week for increased inclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding women in Covid-19 vaccine research.

Bioethicists, vaccinologists and maternal health experts have said for years that pregnant women should be included early in vaccine trials so that they do not have to wait long after a successful vaccine is found.

Despite this, pregnant women were excluded from the large US trials used to obtain a license for the emergency use of Covid-19 vaccines.

Pharmaceutical companies say they first need to make sure vaccines are generally safe and effective.

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