The World Health Organization is discontinuing Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine for pregnant women due to lack of data.
“While pregnancy puts women at a higher risk of severe COVID-19, the use of this vaccine in pregnant women is currently not recommended unless they are at risk of high exposure,” the official WHO status report released Tuesday.
Experts are now advising people who are pregnant to avoid the Moderna vaccine unless they are health professionals in an institution treating coronavirus patients, or if they have a medical condition that puts them at higher risk of COVID-19 death.
In a virtual briefing held by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, or SAGE, from their Geneva headquarters, their director of immunization, Kate O’Brien, emphasized their overall confidence in the therapy.
“There is no reason to think there could be a problem during pregnancy, we just recognize that the data is not there at this time,” said O’Brien, according to a Reuters report.
Officially, health experts are also asking clinics to schedule a second dose of the Moderna vaccine within 28 days of the first, although the gap between injections can eventually be extended to 42 days.
They currently recommend that the vaccine “should be given in doses of 100 micrograms or 0.5 ml 28 days apart,” said Alejandro Cravioto, a WHO panel chair from Mexico.
“This interval can be pushed back to 42 days, but the evidence we have doesn’t go beyond that time,” Cravioto said.
The WHO said they would continue to work closely with Moderna to establish the safety of their vaccine for pregnant people.
Studies have shown that Moderna’s vaccine has shown 92% efficacy in warding off COVID-19 within two weeks of the first dose, and is believed to be effective against more recent SARS-CoV-2 variants, according to WHO.