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Pregnancy and COVID-19 — Understanding the Vaccine's Impact
UNDERSTANDING
Vaccines
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Vaccine Misinformation and Disinformation — and What You Can Do About It Ian Culbert
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accines are making headlines around the world every day as we continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, along with those headlines comes a slew of vaccine misinformation and disinformation intended to confuse, provoke, and ultimately dissuade the reader from being vaccinated. Even more discouraging, none of this is new or unique to COVID-19. One hundred yea rs ago, infectious diseases were the leading cause of death worldwide. In Canada, they now cause less than five percent of all deaths. Vaccination programs have probably saved more lives in Canada in the last 50 years than any other health intervention. Vaccine misinformation (inaccuracies) and disinformation (falsehoods) are more contagious than infectious diseases and their impact can be dire. Every day we use social media and other online sources as a way to find health-related information. Finding information helps us to make informed decisions about our health. When the information we find is incorrect, it affects our ability to make decisions that are in our best interest.
So, what can you do? Be aware that not all information is created equally. Anyone can publish information online and sources can sometimes be deceiving. Take the time to ask yourself a few questions about the source of the information. Is it clear who is behind a website or social media account? What’s their motive? Attention-grabbing disinformation often motivates people to visit websites that include advertisements. Your visit creates revenue for the owner of that website and the content on it. Vaccine disinformation campaigns have also been used for political purposes — ‘weaponized health information’ focused on vaccines has been disseminated by state actors in an attempt to promote social discord and polarization. Ultimately, you need to use your best judgement and it’s best to stick with the websites of governments and health agencies, or websites that display the Vaccine Safety Net seal. Always remember that your health care provider can help you assess the quality of the information you discover and provide the support you need to make the best decision for you and your family.
Ian Culbert Executive Director, Canadian Public Health Association
Health Care Bias — Conscious or Unconscious — Is a Very Real Concern Health care professionals aim to do good and are bound by strict ethical standards, but that doesn’t prevent biases from rearing up. Dan Dimacuha
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he health care system should be impartial to bias while providing exemplary, patient-centered care to the communities it serves. However, health care professionals are susceptible to projecting their biases toward their patients unintentionally, which can have detrimental effects on the level of care provided and overall health. Health care biases can lead to poor patient care, delays in treatment, or inaccurate diagnoses, which ultimately lead to worsening health conditions and negative outcomes for patients. Health care bias can take on many forms, such as ageism, ableism, racial bias, sex and gender bias, socioeconomic status bias, geographic location bias, and level of education bias. Another example of unconscious bias in health care is cultural stereotyping, which further perpetuates health inequalities. There are many patients who have fallen victim to health care bias, suffering traumatic experiences during their hospital visits and sometimes,
unfortunately, experiencing negative outcomes. Health care bias can be combated through various methods to ensure that all patients are provided equitable care without judgment or preconceived notions being projected onto them. Firstly, health care systems should acknowledge and recognize that discrimination and biases are present at the workplace. Once acknowledged, organizations should commit to a culture of inclusion to serve the diverse population in the community. Cultural competency training should be provided for all health care professionals to ensure that they’re well-equipped to combat their unconscious biases and provide equitable care. Furthermore, health care staff should deliberatively reflect upon their own biases to ensure that they don’t unintentionally affect their patients. With proper attention and training, we can address the impact of health care biases and ensure better outcomes for all patients.
ooking forward to starting a family or having another child? The COVID-19 pandemic adds some concerns around getting pregnant and keeping mom and baby safe. Some prospective parents may worry that vaccination to help protect against COVID-19 will affect their fertility or the course of a pregnancy. However, there’s no evidence that vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines — none of which contain live virus — cause fertility problems in females or males, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and several professional medical associations.1 In fact, the CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccination and boosters for people who are pregnant and breastfeeding as well as for those who may wish to become pregnant now or in the future.2 COVID-19 vaccination doesn’t affect fertility and is safe in pregnancy, according to several studies, including an analysis of vaccine safety monitoring data (v-safe safety monitoring system) from almost 5,000 women who had a positive pregnancy test after their first dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna). Similarly, studies haven’t found an increased risk of miscarriage among people who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine just before or during early pregnancy (before 20 weeks of pregnancy).2 Pregnancy is associated with higher risks of becoming severely ill from COVID-19 and having complications that could affect the pregnancy, compared to not being pregnant.2 A recent Public Health Agency of Canada report indicates that pregnant women with COVID19 were approximately six times more likely to be hospitalized than non-pregnant women with the infection (11 percent versus 1.7 percent). The risk of ICU admission was also higher in this group.3 Therefore, being vaccinated against COVID-19 can help protect you and your newborn. It appears that a mother’s antibodies may be passed on to their baby during pregnancy3 and also through breastfeeding.2 At six months of age, 57 percent of babies born to people who were vaccinated during pregnancy had detectable antibodies against COVID-19, compared to just eight percent of those born to unvaccinated mothers who had a COVID-19 infection during pregnancy.4 Keep your family safe — practise social distancing, keep wearing a mask in high-risk situations, and get vaccinated against COVID19.
This article was brought to you by vaccines411.ca. Know where to go for your vaccinations.
Dan Dimacuha Infection Prevention and Control Professional, Halton Healthcare & Chair, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Working Group, Infection Prevention and Control Canada
REFERENCES
1. CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines for People Who Would Like to Have a Baby. Updated Mar. 3, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/planning-for-pregnancy. html 2. CDC. COVID-19 Vaccines While Pregnant or Breastfeeding. Updated Mar. 3, 2022. https://www.cdc. gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/ pregnancy.html 3. Canadian Surveillance Of Covid-19 In Pregnancy: Epidemiology, Maternal And Infant Outcomes. Report #1: Released December 2nd, 2020: Early Release: Maternal and Infant Outcomes (March 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020) from Three Canadian Provinces. https://med-fomridresearch.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2020/12/CANCOVID-Pregreport-1-BC-AB-ON-data_02DEC2020.pdf 4. Durability of Anti-Spike Antibodies in Infants After Maternal COVID-19 Vaccination or Natural Infection. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/ fullarticle/2788986?resultClick=3
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