September 15, 2010
Advice from a healthcare provider plays an important role in a pregnant and postpartum woman’s decision to get vaccinated against seasonal influenza. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College), American Medical Association (AMA), American Nurses Association (ANA), American Pharmacists Association (APhA), Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), March of Dimes, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are asking for your help in urging your pregnant and postpartum patients to get vaccinated against seasonal influenza.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that pregnant and postpartum women receive the seasonal influenza vaccine this year, even if they received 2009 H1N1 or seasonal influenza vaccine last year. Lack of awareness of the benefits of vaccination and concerns about vaccine safety are common barriers to influenza vaccination of pregnant and postpartum women. To overcome these barriers, some key points have been provided below.
c. Vaccination during pregnancy has been shown to protect both the mother and her infant (up to 6 months old) from lab-confirmed influenza. Influenza hospitalization rates in infants <6 months of age are more than 10 times that of older children.
d. Pregnant women represented 5% of 2009 H1N1 influenza deaths in the U.S., while only about 1% of the population was pregnant. Severe illness in postpartum women was also documented. 2009 H1N1 is expected to continue to circulate this influenza season and is included in the seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine this year.
President
American Academy of Family Physicians
Judith S. Palfrey, MD, FAAP
President American Academy of Pediatrics
Holly Powell Kennedy, CNM, PhD,
FACNM, FAAN
President
The American College of Nurse-Midwives
Ralph W. Hale, MD, FACOG
Executive Vice President
The American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists
Michael D. Maves, MD, MBA
Executive Vice President/Chief Executive
Officer
American Medical Association
Marla Weston, PhD, RN
Chief Executive Officer
American Nurses Association
Thomas E. Meninghan, Pharmacist, BS
Pharm, MBA, ScD, FAPhA
Executive Vice President and CEO
American Pharmacists Association
Karen Peddicord, RNC, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric
and Neonatal Nurses
Jennifer L. Howse, PhD
President
March of Dimes
Anne Schuchat, MD
RADM, United States Public Health Service
Assistant Surgeon General
Director, National Center for Immunization
and Respiratory Diseases