How many pregnant people got COVID shots? Early data shows gaps.

When COVID-19 vaccines first became available, a big question was whether pregnant people would get them. An early look at data from eight major U.S. health systems found that by May 2021, only 16% of pregnant people had received at least one dose during their pregnancy. The study, which used records from the CDC's Vaccine Safety Datalink, shows this overall number hides wide gaps. Vaccination coverage was lowest among Hispanic people (12%), non-Hispanic Black people (6%), and people aged 18-24 years (6%). It was highest among non-Hispanic Asian people (25%) and people aged 35-49 years (23%). This is just a snapshot of who got vaccinated in the early months of the rollout. It's an observational study, meaning it simply reports what happened without trying to explain the reasons behind these choices. The data doesn't assess whether the vaccines were safe or effective for this group, and it doesn't tell us what happened after May 2021. It simply gives us a first look at who was getting the shot and where significant disparities existed.