Seniors and pregnant, breastfeeding women can get COVID-19 jab after medical consult —experts

Senior citizens as well as pregnant and breastfeeding women can get vaccinated against COVID-19 after getting clearance from their doctors and giving their informed consent, two experts said Tuesday.

Dr. Shelley de la Vega of the National Institutes of Health and Dr. Sybil Bravo of the Philippine Infectious Diseases Society for Obstetrics and Gynecology stressed that senior citizens and pregnant women are at higher risk for severe COVID-19.

De la Vega said this was why the elderly are the “best candidates” for COVID-19 vaccination.

She said elderly people with hypertension, diabetes, heart or kidney disease, and those undergoing dialysis need not get a doctor’s clearance prior to getting vaccinated.

Senior citizens who must consult with a medical expert before getting a COVID-19 vaccine are those with severe immune deficiency, cancer patients undergoing therapy or in remission, and those bedridden or in a vegetative state.

“Safe po ang ating mga bakuna para sa mga senior citizens [Our vaccines are safe for senior citizens],” De la Vega said.

“Kung kayo ay may sakit gaya ng high blood, diabetes, hika, naninigarilyo, mataba masyado, mas lalo ninyong kailangan ang bakuna laban sa COVID,” she added.

(If you have conditions like high blood [pressure], diabetes, asthma, or if you are a smoker or obese, you are especially in need of a COVID vaccine.)

Bravo, meanwhile, said there are no previous studies on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines among pregnant and breastfeeding women but the World Health Organization (WHO) and US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identified exceptions.

“We can offer the COVID vaccine, any of those two that are available here in our country, the Sinovac or the AstraZeneca, to pregnant women who are very at high risk,” she said.

Bravo said pregnant women at high risk for COVID-19 include healthcare providers or frontline workers.

“Pregnant and breastfeeding women with comorbidities that would make them at high risk of having severe COVID infection may be vaccinated with proper informed consent,” she explained.

Bravo also said another advantage of getting vaccinated for lactating women is the “possible transfer of antibodies through breast milk.”

“As with the other types of vaccine, there is what we call maternal transfer of IgA antibodies through breast milk… Kaya nga po wala naman talagang (That’s why there is really no) definite contraindication in giving the vaccine among breastfeeding women,” she said.

The Department of Health underscored, however, that the vaccine prioritization list—which puts frontline workers in health facilities, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities first in line—must still be followed. 

A total of 215,997 individuals have been vaccinated as of March 15. — BM, GMA News