Pfizer COVID vaccine studies have been delayed for pregnant women. This comes after recommendations have been made by government agencies for women to receive the vaccination to protect themselves and their babies against the coronavirus as well as pregnant women being hesitant to join studies.
On Wednesday, The Hill reported that Pfizer has made the decision to stop enrollment in coronavirus vaccine studies with pregnant women in the United States given the recommendations that exist "encouraging vaccination of pregnant women" and instead are going to turn their efforts to locals outside the states where such "recommendations do not exist."
This statement came via email from a Pfizer spokesperson directly to The Hill, according to the publication.
Pfizer initially began COVID vaccine studies with pregnant women in February, according to NBC News. And while there was initially a good turnout of those expecting to see what the efficacy was of the vaccine while pregnant, over time, according to Mint, that desire to participate began to fade.
According to the publication, pregnant women became hesitant to be part of the studies taking place across the United States. This was not a hesitation based on fear over receiving the vaccine but instead from not receiving the vaccine. None of the women who were interested in being part of the trial wanted to receive a placebo. As such, the interest in participating in the studies began to fade.
When the Centers for Disease Control made new recommendations for pregnant women to receive the COVID vaccination in August, that proved to be the nail in the coffin for Pfizer studies.
Between having the agency recommendation to ease any fears and the Delta variant running rampant, pregnant women who wanted to be protected against the virus did not want to take chances that they would not be the recipient of the vaccine. As such, the decision was made to begin closing enrollment centers, per Mint, which ultimately led to closing them in their entirety.
According to Pfizer, the results of the trials were to be published this year. However, per The Hill, that date is now not expected until sometime in early 2022.
Given that the FDA has authorized the Pfizer vaccine for those 12 and over, authorized the booster for those who are high risk or 65 and older, and recommendations have been made for pregnant women to receive the vaccine, the company appears to want to put resources where they may be of better use.
It is unknown what the pharmaceutical company had hoped for as far as participation size for their trials with expecting women. But given that data has been compiled since February from across the nation, chances are, Pfizer has all they need to come to a conclusion as to the efficacy of the vaccine on the pregnant population who is at risk when it comes to contracting the virus.