Cottage Health urging pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Santa Barbara Cottage Health is urging pregnant women to get their COVID-19 vaccinations on Thursday.

According to health specialists, they say expectant mother and their newborns are at greater risk of health complications if the mother contracts COVID during pregnancy.

Due to the highly contagious Delta variant and the recent increase in COVID cases, doctors are hoping to protect mothers and their newborns against the virus.

“As more data becomes available, we’ve seen that the vaccine is safe during pregnancy and helps to protect both mother and baby from complications of COVID,” said Dr. David Fisk, Medical Director of Infection Control at Cottage Health and an infectious disease specialist at Sansum Clinic.

According to a research study on thousands of women, it showed that pregnant women who got COVID were 15 times more likely to die from the disease compared to women who were not pregnant. It also shows that pregnant women were 22 times more likely to deliver prematurely.

“The risk for complications during pregnancy and childbirth increases dramatically when COVID is involved,” Dr. Fisk added.

The Chief Pediatric Medical Officer at Cottage Children's Medical Center says recent studies show that "breast milk of lactating mothers vaccinated against COVID-19 contains antibodies that may help protect babies from the COVID-19".

“COVID vaccination is strongly encouraged for pregnant and lactating individuals,” Dr. Fisk said, “and it’s recommended by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.”

To find COVID-19 vaccine locations, click here.