AUTHOR=Arulappen Ann Lisa , Danial Monica , Shanmugam Gaiyathri , Cheng Joo Thye , Dulasi Mairin , Chow Ting Soo 

TITLE=A Multicenter Cohort Study on the Adverse Effects Evaluation After Messenger RNA COVID-19 Vaccination Among Pregnant Healthcare Employees in Penang General Hospitals

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.876966

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.876966

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Introduction: The year 2020 saw the emergence of novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which became a great threat to public health worldwide. The exponential spread of the disease with millions of lives lost worldwide saw the emergence of an accelerated vaccine development with emergency approval from well-known regulatory bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA, 2021), followed by widespread vaccine deployment despite paucity in safety profile data. It becomes even more thoughtful when it involves expectant ladies considering on the possible undesirable effect towards the unborn child.

Method: This was a retrospective cohort study which was conducted at six general hospitals in the state of Penang, Malaysia. All the pregnant employees who have consented to take the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and participate in this study were monitored from the time of their first vaccination and up to 28 days after they have delivered their babies.

Results: All the participants had adequate MVP with no obvious anomalies or IUGR was detected during the second semester. However, one subject has reported to have inadequate MVP during the first semester which subsequently resulted in miscarriage. The reported mean neonate birth weight was 3 kg with the mean Apgar score of 8.8 and 9.8 at 1 and 5 minutes respectively. Approximately, 7 (5.8%) neonates were reported to be small for the gestational age. Another 3 (2.5%) neonates were reported to have anomalies.

Conclusion: As a whole, the inference that can be made from this study is mRNA COVID-19 vaccine appears to be safe in pregnant women regardless of the trimester as the findings did not show obvious safety warning sign.