COVID-19 is Associated with Increased Severity in Pregnant Women

Background: COVID-19 pandemic originated in China in late 2019, the number of cases are increasing with 2,104,346 cases and 116,140 deaths in the United States, as of June 16, 2020. Pregnant women are a vulnerable population in epidemics or Pandemics. This Review is designed to look in detail the severity of COVID-19 in pregnant women in comparison to non-pregnant women of reproductive age. Methods: Literature search on PubMed, Google Scholar, Lancet, and Web of Science were conducted. Results: We have found the evidence of increased risk for severe disease and distinctive symptoms among pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 as compared to non-pregnant women. Conclusions: COVID-19 presents in an atypical fashion in pregnant women with comparatively increased severity of symptoms, compared to COVID-19 positive non pregnant women of reproductive age. These findings can help clinicians to recognize the risk posed by COVID-19 in pregnant women

COVID-19 & Pregnancy Complication During Early Pandemic: A Narrative Review

Background: Coronaviruses have caused 3 outbreaks in the past 2 decades. The novel one is SARS-COV-2, which causes COVID-19. Pregnant women have somewhat altered immune state, which may make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and its complications. Extensive research is needed to better understand the clinical course of COVID-19 in this population. Objective: This review article discusses the comparison of previous coronaviruses’ outbreaks, clinical presentations, and complications in pregnant women and newborns. Study Design: We conducted literature search for case series and case reports about pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women with COVID-19 during the early phase of pandemic. Results: In case series, 37 of 129(28.6%) pregnant women with COVID-19 disease had preterm delivery and 14 of 67 pregnant women had fetal distress. The rate of preterm labor in normal pregnant women who are healthy and not infected with any virus worldwide is approximately 11%. Conclusion: Based on the articles reviewed, preterm delivery appears to be the most common complication in COVID-19 pregnant patients. Other complications include fetal distress, stillbirth, ICU admission and severe disease leading to fetal demise and maternal mortality. Pregnancy outcomes seem to be better with Covid-19 compared to SARs and MERS. However, most of these publications are from the early part of the pandemic when protocols for care for pregnant women were being worked out and comprehensive knowledge of the disease process in pregnant women was still in developing stage

An Update on the Leading COVID-19 Vaccines

We reviewed the COVID-19 vaccines that reached phase III of clinical development. For each of the 10 vaccines identified, we described the technology used for vaccine development, the available data from phase III clinical trials, data on vaccine safety, and the role of new SARS-CoV-2 variants on vaccine efficacy