Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection during pregnancy increases the risk of severe illness and death. This study describes individual-level determinants of COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant people in East Tennessee.
Methods: Advertisements for the online Moms and Vaccines survey were placed in prenatal clinics in Knoxville, Tennessee. Determinants were compared between unvaccinated individuals and those partially or fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
Results: Wave 1 of the Moms and Vaccines study included 99 pregnant people: 21 (21.2%) were unvaccinated and 78 (78.8%) were partially or fully vaccinated. Compared with the unvaccinated individuals, the partially or fully vaccinated patients more often obtained information about COVID-19 from their prenatal care provider (8 [38.1%] vs. 55 [70.5%], P = 0.006) and indicated higher levels of trust in that information (4 [19.1] vs. 69 [88.5%], P < 0.0001). Misinformation was higher in the unvaccinated group overall, although there was no difference in concern for the severity of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy by vaccination status (1 [5.0%] of the unvaccinated vs. 16 [20.8%] of the partially or fully vaccinated, P = 0.183).
Conclusion: Strategies to counter misinformation are of the utmost importance, particularly pregnancy- and reproductive health-related misinformation, because of the increased risk of severe disease faced by unvaccinated pregnant individuals.
Keywords: COVID-19 vaccines; acceptance; hesitancy; misinformation; perceived risk; pregnancy; trust in medical providers.
© 2023 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.