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Both the tetanus/diphtheria/acellular pertussis (Tdap) and influenza vaccines are recommended for pregnant women. Vaccination during pregnancy provides passive protection to infants in their particularly-vulnerable early months of life. Despite these recommendations, some providers are hesitant to give vaccines during pregnancy due to concern for adverse events.
To examine the safety of maternal vaccination beyond the immediate neonatal period, researchers in the U.S. identified approximately 25,000 infants aged <6 months who had at least one hospitalization (18% for respiratory illnesses, of which 2% were influenza and 3% were pertussis) and 150 who died during 2004 through 2013. (No deaths were attributable to influenza or pertussis.) They…