TABLE 1.
Summary of vaccines recommended by WHO for (A) routine use by national programs, (B) use in emergencies or outbreak situations, and (C) in advanced clinical development.
| Disease | Vaccine type | Recommendation |
| (A) Routinely recommended vaccines for pregnant women | ||
| Tetanus | Toxoid | Tetanus toxoid vaccination is recommended for all pregnant women, depending on previous tetanus vaccination exposure, to prevent neonatal mortality from tetanus (World Health Organization, 2018c). |
| Influenza A | Inactivated | WHO recommends seasonal influenza vaccination to pregnant women as the highest priority (World Health Organization, 2020). |
| Pertussis | Subunit adjuvanted | Vaccination of pregnant women is likely to be the most cost-effective additional strategy for preventing pertussis disease in infants too young to be vaccinated (World Health Organization, 2016b). |
| (B) Vaccines specifically recommended in endemic countries or during outbreaks | ||
| Cholera | Inactivated | Pregnant and lactating women should be included in Oral Cholera Vaccine campaigns. Evidence indicates high potential benefit and minimal risks (Moro and Sukumaran, 2017; World Health Organization, 2018a). |
| Ebola | Non-replicating or replication-deficient | Since the three new candidate vaccines are non-replicating or replication deficient, pregnant and lactating women should be included into the clinical trial protocols (UN News, 2019; Sage Interim Recommendations on Vaccination against Ebola Virus Disease, 2019). |
| Hepatitis E | Recombinant, adjuvanted | The use of the vaccine to reduce or prevent outbreaks of hepatitis E should be considered as well its use to mitigate consequences in high risk groups such as pregnant women (World Health Organization, 2016a). |
| Meningitis A (MenA) | Conjugated | Pregnant and lactating women residing in the meningitis belt receive the MenA conjugate vaccine during any stage of pregnancy or lactation (World Health Organization, 2018d). |
| Rabies | Inactivated | Rabies vaccines and rabies Immunoglobulin are safe and effective in pregnant and lactating women (World Health Organization, 2018b). |
| Tick-borne encephalitis | Inactivated | The vaccine should be used in pregnant women who live in areas where the incidence of the disease is high (>5 cases/100,000 population per year) (World Health Organization, 2011). |
| Yellow Fever (YF) | Live attenuated | In areas where YF is endemic, or during outbreaks, the benefits of YF vaccination are likely to far outweigh the risk of potential transmission of vaccine-related virus to the fetus or infant (World Health Organization, 2015). |
| (C) Vaccines for specific use in pregnancy and in advanced clinical trials but not yet licensed or pre-qualified | ||
| Group B streptococcus (GBS) | Conjugated | For exclusive use in pregnancy to prevent early and late onset GBS infection in the neonate, potential impact on premature birth and stillbirths, several candidates under development. For GBS vaccine research and development technical roadmap and WHO Preferred Product Characteristics please see https://www.who.int/immunization/research/development/ppc_groupb_strepvaccines/en/ |
| Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) | Subunit +/− adjuvanted | To prevent severe RSV disease in young infants, several candidates under development. For priority activities for development, testing, licensure and global use of RSV vaccines, with a specific focus on the medical need for young children in low- and middle-income countries please see: https://www.who.int/immunization/research/development/ppc_rsv_vaccines/en/ |
* Most WHO vaccine position papers are easily accessible via this link: https://www.who.int/immunization/documents/positionpapers/en/.