A Tory MP has come under fire after repeating a debunked claim that mRNA vaccines are not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen made the unsubstantiated claim while criticizing the health regulator’s decision to authorize a COVID-19 vaccine for children aged six months to four years.
The NHS, the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists and the British Fertility Society are all supporting pregnant women who get the COVID-19 vaccine and say it is ‘highly recommended during pregnancy’.
During Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQ) on Wednesday, Bridgen made a series of misleading arguments about coronavirus bites, including questioning their safety.
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Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, said: “As mRNA vaccines are not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, would my right hon. friend reverse the recent decision by big pharma funded by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency)? recommendation that these experimental vaccines be given to children as young as six months old? »
Fact-checking organization Full Fact previously debunked the claim that vaccines are not recommended for pregnant women and highlighted statements made by several health organizations.
The NHS said: “It is strongly recommended that you get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect you and your baby.”
He added: “It is safe to get the COVID-19 vaccine if you are breastfeeding.”
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The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said: ‘COVID-19 vaccines are strongly recommended during pregnancy.
“Vaccination is the best way to protect against the known risks of COVID-19 in pregnancy for women and babies, including the woman’s admission to intensive care and the baby’s premature birth.”
The British Fertility Society added: “In the UK, pregnant women are advised to be vaccinated against COVID-19, preferably Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines.
“There is no reason to believe that any of the COVID-19 vaccines would be harmful during pregnancy.”
Viki Male, an immunologist working on pregnancy at Imperial College, suggested Bridgen may have fallen for the “misinformation” circulating in August.
She said pregnancy remains a priority condition for COVID vaccination — or a boost in people already vaccinated.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also said he believed COVID vaccines were safe and effective in response to Bridgen’s question.
He replied: ‘But no vaccine, COVID or otherwise, will be approved unless it meets the UK regulator’s standards for safety, quality and efficacy.
“We have an independent body that JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization) determines the age groups for which the vaccine is recommended for use in and as part of the immunization program.
“And, of course, the final decision will be up to the parents.”
Government figures from May showed almost six in 10 women who gave birth in January 2022 (59.5%) had received at least one dose of the vaccine, up from 53.7% in December 2021 and 48.7% in November 2021.
More than half (50.6%) had received two doses of the vaccine in January, compared to 43.3% in December 2021 and 38.4% in November 2021.
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