COVID-19 Maternal Immunization Resource Library

Vaccination during pregnancy (or maternal immunization) is an important public health tool for protecting against complications due to COVID-19, including increased risk of expectant mothers becoming severely ill and of giving birth to preterm babies.

This COVID-19 Maternal Immunization Resource Library is a central place to host links to global and country-specific research and data, guidance, tools, publications, and other resources related to COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy or breastfeeding. It supports World Health Organization (WHO) interim recommendations that pregnant women should have access to WHO Emergency Use Listing-approved COVID-19 vaccines.

Updated quarterly, this library is designed to support stakeholders in preparing for and advancing maternal immunization strategies in the context of COVID-19 and beyond, as part of current pandemic and long-term disease prevention planning. It is also useful for anyone working in the areas of vaccination and maternal, newborn, and child health or for those wanting to learn more.

Decision-makers: People with the responsibility and authority to advance COVID-19 vaccine access for pregnant and breastfeeding individuals in public health systems through supportive policymaking and implementation. These decision-makers may include representatives of normative, funding, or regulatory bodies as well as regional, national, and subnational health representatives and officials.

Implementers: People with the responsibility and authority to organize public health action plans and necessary resources and put them into practice, such as health care workers, health facility managers, procurement teams, ministry of health or finance managers, and nongovernmental organizations.

Advocates: Anyone aiming to increase access to vaccines in pregnancy and improve antenatal care by sharing evidence and supporting decision-making therein. Advocates can include civil society representatives, technical experts, academia, community members, and religious and community leaders.

Browsing or filtering resources compiled within this tool will link users to resources, including guidance and recommendations, original research and other studies, safety registries, publications on COVID-19 vaccines relevant to pregnant and breastfeeding individuals, vaccine safety and acceptance, pregnancy outcomes, and other relevant topics.

The library is intended to be a convenient hub for important resources rather than an exhaustive list of all information to date and should be treated as a living document. For questions or to recommend a resource to be included in the library, please contact our team via this form.

• COVAX Maternal Immunization Working Group