COVID-19 Vaccine Updates

As you prepare to welcome a new little one to your family, you are faced with so many decisions about childbirth and parenting, which have been complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this exciting but possibly stressful time, your Wellstar provider can guide you through these difficult choices, taking into account your personal medical history and your unique pregnancy situation.

Now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines against COVID-19, many patients have questions about how getting the vaccine could affect pregnancy and breastfeeding.

As vaccine supplies become more plentiful and eligibility expands to more age groups, OB/GYN experts recommend that vaccines be offered to those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Here is their guidance for new mothers considering the COVID-19 vaccine.

If you are pregnant and you get infected with COVID-19, you are at higher risk of severe complications.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), pregnant women are more likely than people who are not pregnant to experience severe illness, be admitted to the ICU and need to use a ventilator for breathing. There is also a higher risk of death from COVID-19.

The vaccines will not change your or your baby’s DNA.

Don’t worry about the vaccines altering you or your baby’s genetic material—that’s not how the mRNA vaccines currently available work. The CDC and ACOG agree that the vaccine cannot cause any genetic changes in you or your baby because they do not enter the nucleus of cells, where DNA is housed. The vaccines trigger a protein response in your body that helps build immunity. For more information on how the vaccines work, check out Wellstar’s COVID-19 Community Toolkit.

You and your baby will not get COVID-19 from receiving the vaccine.

The Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine confirms these vaccines cannot give you or your baby COVID-19. The vaccines currently available contain mRNA, not any form of the COVID-19 virus.

There is no data to suggest vaccination impacts future fertility.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine and ACOG both recommend that those trying to become pregnant or considering a future pregnancy still get vaccinated. You will not have to delay or avoid pregnancy after getting both doses of the vaccine. There is also no reason to delay pregnancy attempts because you got the vaccine.

You can still breastfeed.

ACOG recommends that COVID-19 vaccines be offered to lactating women. The Association of Breastfeeding Medicine agrees and says there is no need to avoid starting or to stop breastfeeding if you get the shot.

If you have any questions about the vaccine’s effect on pregnancy or fertility, a discussion with your women’s health provider could help you make an informed decision together. A phone call or virtual visit with your caregiver is a safe and easy way to get more answers about the COVID-19 vaccine.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is the foremost professional membership organization for obstetricians and gynecologists. It is comprised of over 60,000 members (board-certified OBGYNs) spanning the entire career lifecycle.

Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM) is the professional society made up of OBGYNs with advanced training and focus on high-risk pregnancies and conditions.

American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) is the professional society made up of OBGYNs with advanced training and focus on infertility.

Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) is a global community of medical doctors with diverse backgrounds and specialties creating a network of experts and advocates to drive breastfeeding medicine forward.

At Wellstar, we believe prevention is the best way to protect yourself from a potential flu infection. That’s why it’s important for you and your family to get a flu shot every year.

In the wake of the pandemic, we know it may be confusing to tell the difference between the flu and COVID-19. If you are unsure if you are experiencing flu or COVID-19 symptoms, please see the comparison section below.

Flu vs COVID-19

Influenza (flu) and COVID-19 are both viral respiratory illnesses and share many common signs and symptoms. Both illnesses are contagious and can be spread through person-to-person contact, although COVID-19 can spread to other people more easily and quickly than the flu.

Since the flu and COVID-19 have many similar symptoms and traits, it may be difficult to determine which respiratory illness you may be experiencing. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are key differences between the two illnesses:

Similarities

• Fever* or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Sore throat
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle pain or body aches
• Headaches
• Vomiting and diarrhea, most common in children
• People 65 years of age and older and those with underlying health conditions may be at higher risk of contracting the flu and COVID-19.*
• Serious medical complications may occur, including pneumonia, respiratory failure, cardiac injury, worsening health conditions and bacterial infections.

*Note: Not everyone with the flu will have a fever. Children under the age of 5 may also be at higher risk of contracting the flu.

Differences

Seasonal flu shots are widely available to the public. As the supply and availability for authorized COVID-19 vaccines increases, you can choose to be vaccinated to protect your health and other community members. Compared to the flu, people with COVID-19 may often:

• Experience sudden change or loss in taste or smell

• Experience additional complications in severe cases, including blood clots in the veins and arteries of the lungs, heart, legs or brain
• Take longer to develop symptoms (up to 14 days after infection)
• Stay contagious longer (at least 10 days after symptoms appear)

Diagnostic testing may be the best way to determine if you are currently infected with COVID-19 or may have had a past infection of the virus.

For more information about COVID-19 testing, click here.

Is It the Flu, Common Cold or COVID-19?

Compared to COVID-19 and even the flu, people with common colds usually experience milder than the other infections. Typically, colds do not result in serious health problems or complications, such as pneumonia or bacterial infections.

People with colds are more likely to have stuffy or runny noses. In general, experiencing fever, chills and headaches are uncommon.

For more detailed information, call (770) 956-STAR (7827) or visit our COVID-19 resource page.

At Wellstar, we know not one person’s life has gone untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across Georgia—and throughout the world—many have had to learn how to navigate a state of “new normal” as well as deal with complicated and confusing emotions. But through every challenge and triumph, we’ve all been in this together.

However, hearing the same news reports and safety information over and over can become tiresome. It’s possible to forget what our community has been working towards… but now is not the time to tune out.

Wellness is a two-way street, and it’s up to all of us to make well happen.

That’s because just as much as saving lives and fighting illness happens every day at our Wellstar healthcare facilities, staying well starts with you. When you focus on the wellness of your world—yourself, family and friends—you have a profound impact on people everywhere.

When you join the movement to make well happen, you become a wellness warrior.

Here's how to do your part to make well happen:

• Wear a mask to keep yourself healthy and the most vulnerable members of our community safe.
• Wash your hands often for 20 seconds to rid your hands of viruses, bacteria and other harmful germs that are easily spread by touching.
• Watch your distance by staying six feet apart from others to avoid community spread of COVID-19.

As you dedicate yourself to doing your part, Wellstar continues to keep the people and communities we serve safe every day. We have been working hard to make well happen, across all of our hospitals, health parks, urgent care centers and hundreds of medical offices.

Here's what we do every day to make well happen:

• Masks are a must. All Wellstar team members wear masks and other Personal Protective Equipment. Wellstar asks each visitor or patient to bring a mask for their protection and to conserve PPE for healthcare team members.
• Screenings at entrances. Wellstar ensures each person coming into a Wellstar facility will have their temperature checked and will be asked about their potential COVID-19 exposure. Likewise, team members have their temperatures checked before each shift.
• Social distancing. Wellstar observes all social distancing guidelines.
• Enhanced visitation policy. We’ve limited visitors in our facilities to prevent potential spread of infection. For the most updated information about visitation, please see our updated visitation guidelines.
• Separate waiting areas. If a person wishing to enter a Wellstar facility has symptoms consistent with respiratory illness, they will be provided a separate location to wait for treatment.
• We wear PPE. All Wellstar team members who meet with patients will wear appropriate PPE for their, and the patient’s, safety.
• Clean and disinfect every surface. We’ve added extra safety measures to our already thorough cleaning routine. Wellstar cleans all public areas and sanitizes in between each patient’s treatment with an approved cleaning product that protects against potential COVID-19 spread.

As we fight on the frontlines to keep Georgia well, we also look to you. You are a change-maker. When you do your part, we all work together to make well happen.