One of the many poisons that women want to keep as far away from themselves as possible during pregnancy is that of insecurity. Unfortunately, the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) has made it anything but easy for expectant mothers in the past few months because it has not made a general vaccination recommendation for pregnant women. Quite a few positioned themselves as early as the spring well-known medical associations and urgently advised vaccination, initial data from the USA already showed that the benefits outweigh the risks. But many resident gynecologists still did not want to vaccinate their pregnant patients – no Stiko recommendation, no spades.
In the meantime, further, large-scale studies have appeared – and now Stiko has given the green light. All’s well that ends well? Not quite, because many women did not feel particularly well in the German health system even before the pandemic, and have the feeling that they are second-class patients in medicine that is still male. “In principle, pregnant women should not be excluded from vaccination programs,” writes the German Society for Gynecology in a recommendation, and yes, this sentence tastes a bit like the playground, just let everyone play along. And so, at the latest, the gap between the opinion of the professional associations and the reluctance of Stiko nourished the impression that the concerns of women and pregnant women are perhaps not that important in pandemic management.
This is less a scientific than a communicative problem. The public is under the impression that Stiko is still finding it difficult to switch to pandemic mode. The powerful US health agency CDC already signed up in early August clearly pronounced for the pregnancy vaccination. It may be correct that the Stiko took another four weeks and only looked at data, not psychosocial problems such as insecurity and fears; all of this in particular to protect patients. But then she would have to make the parents-to-be, in the course of the decision-making process, believable that she has not been forgotten.
The opposite has happened: to this day, families who, for example, no longer take their older sibling to a daycare center for fear of infection in the pregnant woman, are more or less alone. For this there was no help, no offers, more than that, even little understanding. At the same time, the restraint of the Stiko has also favored the spread of conspiracy nonsense, which of course catches on particularly well with the topics of fertility, pregnancy and children. Instead of allowing this vacuum, an awareness campaign would have been needed before the vaccination campaign. In the months and years to come, the virus will reach everyone, including pregnant women. Vaccination or infection, there is nothing in between.