A survey of more than 17,000 pregnant and lactating people who received the COVID-19 vaccine showed that they did not experience symptoms any more severe than their non-pregnant counterparts.

The study in JAMA Network Open shows “there were not any increased reactions in pregnant individuals beyond what is expected from a vaccine” says Linda Eckert, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington School of Medicine and the study’s senior author.

“Pregnant people do well with the vaccine,” adds lead author Alisa Kachikis.

The findings come a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention formally recommended that all pregnant women get vaccinated against the virus. The CDC reported that only 23% of US pregnant women were vaccinated as of the end of July. The percentage is even lower among Black and Latina women.

“We hope that this data will be another reassuring piece of information… about why pregnant individuals need to get vaccinated against COVID-19,” Eckert says. “Not only is the vaccine safe, our research shows just how well the vaccine is tolerated in pregnant individuals—which is a common fear I hear from my patients. In contrast, we are continuing to learn more and more about just how dangerous COVID-19 infections are in pregnancy.”

Read the full article about pregnant people and the COVID-19 vaccine at Futurity.