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Here in Maine some of my pregnant patients are choosing to receive the vaccine and some are not. Without looking at my records I’d say it is about 70/30 right now among the pregnant people I work with. In my practice some pregnant people, all children under 12 and a small percentage of people who are actively TTC are really the only unvaccinated people in my practice at this point. All pregnant people in my area are being advised that the vaccine is likely safe in pregnancy and that there is the benefit of passing antibodies on to the baby, but individual choice is highly respected. In my area vaccine can be given right in the Women’s Health Centers during prenatal and postpartum appointments, which might also be increasing the numbers. I find my patients who are not vaccinating in pregnancy are those who have undergone IVF prior to the vaccine becoming available or have a history of prior losses, which makes sense to me. One of my patients due in July (G3P1) underwent IVF for her second pregnancy prior to the vaccine being available. She told me that she knows that the vaccine is likely safe in pregnancy, but that she if she had lost the baby after receiving the vaccine that she always would have wondered if it was the vaccine and she just didn’t feel she would handle that well psychologically. It’s a position that I have alot of respect for. At this time 100% of the pregnant people I’m working with who are not vaccinating in pregnancy are choosing to receive vaccine within the first few weeks postpartum so that their babies can potentially get antibodies through breastmilk.
Maine has the second highest vaccination rate in the country with 54% of people fully vaccinated and the island of 10,000 I live on is actually much higher than that with the four townships ranging from 66%-89% fully vaccinated, so my population is likely very skewed compared to what others might be seeing.