Influenza in Pregnancy: Prevention and Treatment

Abstract

Pregnant and postpartum individuals are at significantly higher risk of serious complications related to seasonal and pandemic influenza infections compared with nonpregnant people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend that all adults receive an annual influenza vaccine and that individuals who are or will be pregnant during influenza season receive an inactivated or recombinant influenza vaccine as soon as it is available. Although the influenza vaccine significantly lowers the risk of severe disease, it will not prevent all infections. Obstetrician–gynecologists and other obstetric health care professionals should consider both influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection for pregnant individuals who present with symptoms of respiratory illness. Antiviral treatment should not be delayed while awaiting respiratory infection test results, and a patient’s vaccination status should not affect the decision to treat. Obstetrician–gynecologists and other obstetric care professionals can help reduce disparities in influenza vaccination rates as well as severe outcomes related to influenza infection by strongly recommending influenza vaccination to all patients.