I've done a bit of research on the COVID vaccination for women that are currently pregnant. I approached this with a very invested interest on a personal level in what the data was showing (because it does affect me for several personal reasons). There is more and more actual research out there being released and (trigger warning!) I highly suggest you review yourself instead of taking one side based on your political party and parroting the party line, especially if it concerns your unborn child. I also wouldn't trust some rando on the internet with a drug/Breaking Bad related name.

I went into this with a very straightforward answer: no, I don't think my wife should get this vaccine while pregnant. To be honest, I still lean that way after my research. I would absolutely still lean towards not wanting my wife to get the vaccine if we were able to quarantine the entire pregnancy but, like most of us, that is simply not a reality we live in (or, frankly, would want to live in!).

I'm not trying to convince anyone here to do anything against their own interests and the biggest concern most on this board have (long-term effects of vaccine) are still 100% relevant to the studies I looked over; however, I still thought it would be worth sharing the studies I found on the observed, statistical differences between pregnant women who were vaccinated, un-vaccinated without contracting COVID and un-vaccinated while contracting COVID. If you have any other studies, please do link them here, I'd love to do more research!

So, here are key points/conclusions made from my independent review. Summaries of the studies I reviewed following (with links to the studies). My takeaways:

• The COVID vaccine given to women in the 2nd or 3rd trimester did not alter perinatal outcomes when compared to a matched cohort of propensity balanced pregnant women that did not receive the vaccine.
• You can be significantly healthier than the average COVID ICU patient while pregnant and still be at greater risk for composite morbidity, intubation, mechanical ventilation, and intensive care unit admission.
• If you get a severe or critical COVID diagnosis while pregnant, you at a greater risk for composite morbidity, intubation, mechanical ventilation, and intensive care unit admission. You also have an astoundingly higher chance to deliver preterm and have a cesarean delivery.
• If you are pregnant and in your third trimester, it is more likely you will deliver preterm. If you have COVID during delivery, you have 10x higher rate of mortality, 15x higher rate of intubation, 5.8x higher rate of ICU admission than women without COVID-19

Summaries of studies (by name of study and pertinent information pulled from study):

COVID-19 Vaccination During Pregnancy: Coverage and Safety (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8352848/)

• This was a cohort study of pregnant women who gave birth at St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK, between March 1st and July 4th 2021
• Data was available for 1328 pregnant women of whom 141 received at least one dose of vaccine before giving birth and 1187 women who did not; 85.8% of those vaccinated received their vaccine in the third trimester and 14.2% in the second trimester.
• Data was collected on COVID-19 vaccination uptake, vaccination type, gestational age at vaccination, as well as maternal characteristics including age, parity, ethnicity, index of multiple deprivation score and co-morbidities. Further data were collected on perinatal outcomes including stillbirth (fetal death 24 weeks' gestation), preterm birth, fetal/congenital abnormalities and intrapartum complications. Pregnant women who received the vaccine were compared with a matched cohort of propensity balanced pregnant women to compare outcomes.
• In a propensity score matched cohort, compared with non-vaccinated pregnant women, 133 women who received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnancy (vs. those unvaccinated) had similar rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes (P>0.05 for all): stillbirth (0.0% vs 0.3%), fetal abnormalities (2.2% vs 2.7%), intrapartum pyrexia (3.7% vs 1.5%), postpartum hemorrhage (9.8% vs 9.5%), cesarean section (30.8% vs. 30.6%), small for gestational age (12.0% vs 15.8%), maternal high dependency unit or intensive care admission (6.0% vs 3.5%) or neonatal intensive care unit admission (5.3% vs 5.4%).
• This study contributes to the body of evidence that having COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy does not alter perinatal outcomes.

Pregnancy and birth outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in pregnancy (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8378017/)

• 2,002 patients in the delivery cohort, 140 (7.0%) received a COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and 212 (10.6%) experienced a COVID-19 infection during pregnancy.
• No maternal COVID-19 infections occurred after vaccination during pregnancy.
• No significant difference in the composite adverse outcome (5.0% (7/140) vs. 4.9% (91/1862), P=0.95) or other maternal or neonatal complications, including thromboembolic events and preterm birth, was observed in vaccinated compared to unvaccinated patients
• COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy was not associated with increased pregnancy or delivery complications. The cohort was skewed toward late pregnancy vaccination, and thus findings may not be generalizable to vaccination during early pregnancy.
• Clinical course of severe and critical coronavirus disease 2019 in hospitalized pregnancies: a United States cohort study (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32391519/)
• Of 64 hospitalized pregnant women with coronavirus disease 2019 (in 12 US institutions between March 5, 2020, and April 20, 2020), 44 (69%) had severe disease, and 20 (31%) had critical disease.
• The following preexisting comorbidities were observed: 25% had a pulmonary condition, 17% had cardiac disease, and the mean body mass index was 34 kg/m2
• Most women (81%) were treated with hydroxychloroquine; 7% of women with severe disease and 65% of women with critical disease received remdesivir.
• Thirty-two of 64 (50%) women with coronavirus disease 2019 in this cohort delivered during their hospitalization (34% [severe group] and 85% [critical group]). Furthermore, 15 of 17 (88%) pregnant women with critical coronavirus disease 2019 delivered preterm during their disease course, with 16 of 17 (94%) pregnant women giving birth through cesarean delivery; overall, 15 of 20 (75%) women with critical disease delivered preterm.

Pregnant women with severe or critical coronavirus disease 2019 have increased composite morbidity compared with nonpregnant matched controls (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33221292/)

• The cases consisted of 38 pregnant women admitted (between March 12, 2020, and May 5, 2020) specifically for severe or critical coronavirus disease 2019 and not for obstetrical indications. The controls consisted of reproductive-aged, nonpregnant women admitted for severe or critical coronavirus disease 2019.
• The mean age and body mass index were markedly higher in the nonpregnant control group. The nonpregnant cohort also had an increased frequency of preexisting medical comorbidities, including diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease.
• For the 38 pregnant women with confirmed COVID-19 infections, 29 (76.3%) met the criteria for severe disease status and 9 (23.7%) met the criteria for critical disease status
• The patients experienced higher rates of intensive care unit admission
• Among the pregnant women who underwent delivery, 72.7% occurred through cesarean delivery and the mean gestational age at delivery was 33.85.5 weeks in patients with severe disease status and 353.5 weeks in patients with critical coronavirus disease 2019 status.
• Despite the higher comorbidities of diabetes and hypertension in the nonpregnant controls, the pregnant cases were at an increased risk for composite morbidity, intubation, mechanical ventilation, and intensive care unit admission.

Characteristics and Outcomes of Women With COVID-19 Giving Birth at US Academic Centers During the COVID-19 Pandemic (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2782978)

• This cohort study compared characteristics and outcomes of 869,079 women (age 18 years), 18,715 (2.2%) had COVID-19 and 850,364 (97.8%) did not, who underwent childbirth with vs without COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, at 499 US academic medical centers or community affiliates.
• Analyses compared demographic characteristics, gestational age, and comorbidities.
• There was no significant increase in cesarean delivery among women with COVID-19 (6,088 women [32.5%] vs 273,810 women [32.3%]; P = .57) but women with COVID-19 were more likely to have preterm birth (3,072 women [16.4%] vs 97967 women [11.5%]; P < .001).
• Women giving birth with COVID-19, compared with women without COVID-19, had significantly higher rates of ICU admission (977 women [5.2%] vs 7943 women [0.9%]; odds ratio [OR], 5.84 [95% CI, 5.46-6.25]; P < .001), respiratory intubation and mechanical ventilation (275 women [1.5%] vs 884 women [0.1%]; OR, 14.33 [95% CI, 12.50-16.42]; P < .001), and in-hospital mortality (24 women [0.1%] vs 71 [<0.01%]; OR, 15.38 [95% CI, 9.68-24.43]; P < .001)
• Women with COVID-19 giving birth had higher rates of mortality, intubation, ICU admission, and preterm birth than women without COVID-19.

Cross-posted to Politics and COVID board.

I know, I know, TLDR is needed.