COVID-19 Vaccination: Safety for Pregnant Women

Centene remains focused on improving the health of our communities through research, education, technology, and customized treatment for our members. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Centene has been committed to following science and doing our part to educate and encourage our employees and members to get vaccinated based on this data.

As one of the nation’s leading healthcare companies, Centene seeks to answer questions about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly for women who are pregnant or childbearing age. In fact, this past week in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology – Maternal Fetal Medicine reported that early studies indicate that vaccinated pregnant women could potentially pass on protected antibodies to their babies.

Dr. Gloria Wilder, Centene’s Vice President, Innovation and Health Transformation, stated, “Right now, it is really important to be vaccinated because there is a good chance that by breastfeeding and doing all of the other wonderful things that mothers do that you are protecting your baby. Mothers transmit immunity through their breast milk, and we know this from other circumstances of vaccines beyond the COVID-19 vaccine. So, this is actually a ‘greater good moment’ where mothers have a chance to help their newborn or unborn babies more than they realize.”

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) most recent guidelines on pregnant women state that the COVID-19 vaccine does not increase the risk of miscarriage or congenital disabilities and is safe for all women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or who may become pregnant in the future to receive.

“The CDC has an incredible history of eradicating disease around the world, and it’s not just one person or one group of people,” said Dr. Vincent Nelson, Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Centene.  “The CDC has seen decades of success and has done the work that has gotten more than half of Americans vaccinated. We are up to over 300 million doses in the U.S. and billions around the world. As the research shows, these vaccines will go down as some of the safest ever made.”

If you are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant, Centene encourages you to follow science and get vaccinated so we can continue to transform the health of our communities where we live, work, and serve.