An entire population of adults has not been accounted for when it comes to administering COVID-19 vaccinations. Pregnant women, who are at higher risk of severe illness if they contract the virus, were excluded from vaccine clinical trials, and now there is debate and concern about whether or not they are safe for expecting mothers.
March of Dimes CEO Stacey Stewart said the exclusion of pregnant women in vaccine testing is an outdated process and a roadblock for the advancement of science.
"It's 2021, we need to take a more modern approach to how we advance science, especially as it relates to pregnant women [and] to newborn babies," Stewart told Cheddar. "At the March of Dimes, we've been a long advocate for newborn screening for all the things that would help us to make sure that moms and babies are protected,"
While the CDC and the World Health Organization both agree that patients should consult with a doctor to make the best decision for themselves and their baby, the impact of the vaccines, particularly the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccines that do not use the live version of the virus, on pregnancies is unknown. So far, both companies are monitoring women who became pregnant after getting vaccinated.
According to Stewart, the fact that the Moderna and Pfizer's vaccines do not "influence or alter the DNA" signals that they would be a safe option for pregnant women to consider.
"What we are saying at the March of Dimes is consult your health care practitioner," she said. "But by all means, know that as a pregnant woman you are at potentially higher risk of severe illness if you contract COVID-19, so we would certainly recommend that women give serious thought to receiving the vaccine when they're able to."
Last week, NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said of the more than 10,000 pregnant women that have been vaccinated, no major incidents have been reported, which Stewart said is a good indicator of safety.
"If a woman is at high risk, is an essential worker, is at high risk of being in contact with someone that has COVID-19, is at high risk herself of severe illness because of comorbidities, please consider the vaccine because it could save your life. It could save the life of your baby as well," she noted.
The sophisticated rocket sent a payload that included 24 satellites, a new, solar-powered space sail, and the ashes of 152 people, into space with its side boosters successfully returning to Earth unscathed.
That next step for meat alternatives will apparently include fish as companies like Wild Type, BlueNalu, and Finless Foods wager that, in the age of plant-based burgers, there’s room for seafood grown in the lab.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, June 19, 2019.
Elon Musk may be going to Vegas. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has recommended that The Boring Company be chosen to construct a "people mover" below the expanding convention center.
Cannabis, hemp, reefer, marijuana, dope, pot, grass ー no matter what term you choose, they all refer to the same plant: cannabis sativa. It’s a common misconception that cannabis sativa exclusively means that particular strain of weed that makes you creative and focused (as opposed to indica, which promotes relaxation)ー but it’s actually the scientific name of the single plant that yields marijuana, CBD, and hemp, among other products.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019.
Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton won't guarantee investors dividends. What he will promise is a stake in global cannabis domination. "If people want a dividend, we are probably not the right stock. If they want some entity aimed at dominating a global opportunity that started in Canada, we are probably your best bet," Linton told Cheddar on Friday, one day after the company reported a massive spike in third-quarter revenue.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Feb, 15, 2019.
It's a big week in cannabis earnings ー Aurora Cannabis reported Monday and Canopy Growth will report Thursday ー but Paul Rosen, CEO of cannabis private equity firm Tidal Royalty, said he's noticing a concerning trend."All the companies are facing gross margin compression because there are excise taxes, there's a massive marketing spend as we go to recreational cannabis, and there's also increased packaging costs. So I think you're going to see a trend line here, which is revenue and capacity going up, but gross margin is going down," Rosen told Cheddar Wednesday.
Opiant Pharmaceuticals, the developer of opioid antidote NARCAN, is in the process of developing a version of its lifesaving drug for cannabanoid overdoses, the company's CEO told Cheddar in an interview on Wednesday.
