©Jhpiego
Maternal
Immunisation.
COVID 19: Preparing Early Adopter
Countries for Maternal Vaccination
Background
In the search for the vaccine
against the virus that causes (SARS-
CoV2), pregnant and lactating
women (PLW) were left out in
the registration for candidates
for the trial despite the fact that
they have also been impacted by
COVID-19. Observational data have
shown that pregnant people with
COVID-19 have an increased risk of
severe manifestations of COVID-19,
including illness resulting in
Intensive Care Unit admission,
mechanical ventilation, and
death compared to non-
pregnant women of reproductive
age. Pregnant women with
COVID-19 may also be at increased
risk of adverse pregnancy
outcomes, like preterm birth,
To inform demand generation and
communication strategies, it is
critical to gather information from
relevant stakeholders; this is the
gap he COVID 19: Preparing Early
Adopter Countries for Maternal
Vaccination study.
compared to pregnant women
without COVID-19. PLW are
also at increased risk of adverse
pregnancy outcomes related to
interruption of Antenatal care and
service delivery. Voices of the
Ministries of health and research
agencies vary on vaccinating
pregnant women against COVID
19. Therefore, there is an urgent
need for locally relevant information
to help guide local advisory groups
and managers can interpret vaccine
recommendations. Similar concerns
have been expressed in vaccines
for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV),
and group B Streptococcus (GBS)
vaccines which are in development
for women and will be available
for administration during pregnancy
in the next 10-15 years.
 Project Methodology Project Results
• An exploratory qualitative study Data gleaned from the two
to describe the knowledge, streams of studies will:
attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours
surrounding maternal • Provide insights to inform
immunization among key strategies for the promotion
stakeholders in Kenya. and adoption of maternal
• Divides the work in two streams immunization in pandemic
to rest readiness for COVID-19 and routine immunization
vaccine (a year) and the contexts
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), • Provide tools to asses
and group B Streptococcus (GBS) readiness and impact
(3 years) maternal immunization
• Targeting pregnant and in select Low and Middle
lactating women, their family Income Countries.
members, other community • Guide the possible
members (including community implementation of research
gatekeepers such as religious and develop tools in
leaders, youth leaders, women/ collaboration with Safe in
men leaders), healthcare Pregnancy, an active safety
providers, health managers, and surveillance project across
Project objective policymakers in Kenya. multiple countries.
• Specific focus given to the
• Evaluate the readiness of challenges faced in vaccinating
Ministries of Health, healthcare women for COVID-19, lessons
workers who offer antenatal learned from different responses
care and postnatal care, and to other vaccination campaigns
service delivery platforms to that occurred with varied
deliver COVID-19 vaccines and success, desired types of
other vaccines to pregnant and evidence for proceeding with safe
lactating women. and ethical inclusion of pregnant
• Build capacity for maternal and and lactating women in vaccine
neonatal health (MNH) outcome campaigns, and readiness of
data collection in the context of service delivery platforms to
COVID-19. deliver COVID-19, and other
• Inform decision-making and vaccines to pregnant and
communication approaches lactating women.
for maternal RSV and GBS
vaccination programs.
©Jhpiego

Jhpiego has been working in Kenya since 1973 to prevent the needless deaths of women, girls and their families by making health services the very best they can
be. We work hand-in-hand with government to empower health workers with low-cost innovations that save thousands of lives. We have formed great partnerships
with the government's Ministry of Health, doctors, community health workers and health systems managers to solve Kenya’s toughest health problems.