Coronavirus Watch: What we know about infection during pregnancy
A COVID-19 infection at any point during pregnancy increases the risk to both mother and child, according to a new study that compiled previous findings of more than 13,000 people.
Compared to pregnant people who were not infected, pregnant people who contracted COVID-19 faced:
- 23 times higher risk for pneumonia
- 5 times higher risk for requiring critical care
- 15 times higher risk for mechanical ventilation
- nearly 4 times higher risk for intensive care
- more than 7 times higher risk for death
Newborns whose mother was currently infected were nearly twice as likely to be born preterm or require care in a neonatal unit, the study found. Infection was not linked to stillbirth.
Vaccination during pregnancy reduces those risks, doctors say.
This is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here are some more headlines:
- The SARS-CoV-2 virus doesn't just infect the lungs — it spreads throughout the entire body and even into the brain, according to a study published in Nature that examined autopsies of COVID patients who had severe disease. Researchers detected the virus as late as 7 and a half months after symptoms first appeared.
- Vaccination rates among children have dropped, according to the CDC researchers. COVID rates were not studied but researchers found coverage dropped nearly 1% from last school year for vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and chickenpox. Read more here.
- China update: The country has reported nearly 60,000 virus-related deaths since early December, the first official numbers since China ended its strict "zero-COVID" policy. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is calling for more information about COVID infections there.
Thanks for reading the Coronavirus Watch. Today's newsletter is brought to you by health reporter Karen Weintraub and editor Rachel Aretakis.