Exclusion of Reproductive-aged Women in COVID-19 Vaccination and Clinical Trials

• Published in: Women's health issues 2022-11, Vol.32 (6), p.557-563
• Main Authors: Kons, Kelly M., Wood, Megan L., Peck, Lindsey C., Hershberger, Sarah M., Kunselman, Allen R., Stetter, Christina, Legro, Richard S., Deimling, Timothy A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 Vaccines - therapeutic use; Female; Humans; Male; Pregnancy; SARS-CoV-2; United States - epidemiology; Vaccination; Vaccines
• ISSN: 1049-3867; 1878-4321
• DOI: 10.1016/j.whi.2022.06.004

We analyzed the exclusion of pregnant and breastfeeding individuals and those capable of pregnancy in COVID-19 vaccine and clinical treatment trials. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were extracted from all listed COVID-19 vaccine and treatment clinical trials from May 1, 2020, to October 31, 2020, using the U.S. National Library of Medicine database. We report rates of rates of exclusion for pregnant and lactating individuals and requirements for contraception for pregnancy-capable participants in COVID-19 vaccine and treatment clinical trials. The analysis included the association between clinical trial exclusion and vaccine and treatment type, study location, sponsor, and phase. Pregnant and lactating individuals were explicitly excluded from most COVID-19 vaccine and treatment clinical trials. Of the 90 vaccine trials, 88 (97.8%) excluded pregnant individuals, 73 (81.1%) excluded lactating individuals, and 56 (62.2%) required contraception use. Of the 495 treatment trials, 350 (70.7%) excluded pregnant individuals, 269 (54.3%) excluded lactating individuals, and 91 (18.4%) required contraception use. Although vaccine type was not associated with pregnancy exclusion, it was associated with lactation exclusion (p = .01) and contraception requirement (p