I’ve been watching a concerning narrative unfold—one that puts pregnant women squarely in the middle of a battle of egos, ideologies, and outdated science.
It started when I heard a statement by Dr. Paul Offit regarding the removal of COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy pregnant women in the U.S. His concern was clear: without this recommendation, someone might die, and that death could trigger a lawsuit. In his words, what you'd "like to see" is for a pregnant woman to get COVID, suffer, and then sue the government for not giving her access to the vaccine.
That sentiment stayed with me—not because I believe anyone wants a pregnant woman to die, but because it highlights a deeply flawed mindset. A mindset where being right has become more important than being honest about risk.
Thursday 26th June, 2025 at 7PM UK time
Risk Is Not Static—And Neither Is Science
Let’s ask the hard question: Are the risks to pregnant women in 2025 the same as they were in 2021?
Clearly not.
Back then, COVID-19 was novel. Most people had no immunity. Pregnancy, with its natural suppression of interferon responses and increased ACE2 expression, made women especially vulnerable to severe outcomes. That’s why recommending vaccination made sense at that time.
But today, the landscape is different. We now have widespread mucosal immunity, either from prior infection, vaccination, or both. Severe COVID—especially the kind requiring ICU care—is increasingly rare, even among pregnant women.
And in places like the UK? According to the MBRRACE-UK maternal mortality reports, COVID-19 deaths in pregnancy have dropped dramatically. Early indications suggest there may have been no maternal deaths from COVID-19 in 2023 or 2024, vaccinated or not. The risk profile has changed, and recommendations should reflect that.
