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Box urges pregnant people to get COVID-19 vaccine

WFIU/WTIU

State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box is urging pregnant people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Box said she’s worried about the increasingly apparent harm the virus can pose to them and their babies.

Less than half of eligible Hoosiers younger than 50 are vaccinated against COVID-19. And Box is especially concerned about pregnant people because she said data “clearly” shows COVID-19 causes more serious disease in those who are pregnant as opposed to people the same age who aren’t.

“COVID-19 also increases the risk for poor pregnancy outcomes like stillbirth and preterm birth,” Box said.

READ MORE: How Is Indiana Distributing COVID-19 Vaccines? Here's What You Need To Know

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Box said pregnant COVID-19 patients are admitted to the ICU twice as much as those who aren’t pregnant and are nearly three times as likely to be put on a ventilator.

Box said the COVID-19 vaccine is safe for pregnant people. And she added that there’s no evidence it causes infertility in anyone.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.