ATLANTA, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- There is a need to educate pregnant women and their healthcare providers on the need of a seasonal influenza vaccine, U.S. health officials said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report released Thursday said pregnant women are at increased risk for complications from influenza.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Obstetric Practice recommend that pregnant women receive intramuscular, inactivated influenza vaccine during any trimester of pregnancy, the report said.
Researchers at the CDC analyzed data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System to assess influenza vaccination coverage among women from Georgia and Rhode Island with recent live-births. In Georgia, vaccine coverage prevalence increased from 10.4 percent in 2004 to 15.5 percent in 2006. In Rhode Island, coverage increased from 21.9 percent in 2004 to 33.4 percent in 2007.
The report said pregnant women who received advice from their doctor to get the seasonal flu shot were more likely to report being vaccinated.
