OB-GYN group recommends four vaccines for pregnant women

A coalition of leading medical organizations led by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has recommended a vaccine schedule for pregnant people that differs significantly from current federal guidance. The schedule, released on Wednesday, endorses four vaccines during pregnancy: influenza, COVID-19, Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis), and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). The recommendations were endorsed by 13 other groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

The ACOG schedule represents a direct divergence from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s current recommendations. Last year, the CDC withdrew its universal recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant people and children. The CDC’s current advice for pregnancy includes only the Tdap and RSV vaccines. The changes to federal guidance were made under the direction of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In response to those changes, ACOG withdrew from a CDC advisory committee on vaccines last year.

Officials from ACOG and other endorsing organizations framed the new schedule as a necessary measure...