Pregnant Houston councilmember gets COVID-19 vaccine publicly

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — In Texas, people who can currently get a COVID-19 vaccine fall under the state’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution Phase 1A or Phase 1B criteria. Pregnant women are considered part of Phase 1B, but many have questions about whether it’s safe for their unborn baby.

A Houston city council member who is also pregnant decided to get the shot publicly to help build confidence in other women.

“I will be the first to admit I was a little nervous to get the vaccine,” said Councilmember Abbie Kamin. “I think that goes with the territory of being pregnant, especially for the first time.”

Many other pregnant women have also shown hesitancy, said Stephanie Humbert, division manager of the health department’s nurse family partnership program. The program pairs a nurse with a low-income woman who is pregnant for the first time.

She said about 10% of the 170 women who are currently participating in the program have received the vaccine.

“We are just in the beginning stages of explaining the COVID-19 vaccine, and what it can do, and that it won’t harm them or their baby,” Humbert said. “We are slowly changing minds, but I think it’s going to take some time.”

Ultimately, Kamin decided to get her vaccine publicly.

“When I walked into my doctor’s office, I said, ‘Hey, I think I want to get the vaccine,’ and she goes, ‘Please, please get it,'” Kamin said.

Doctors have said the ingredients in the COVID-19 vaccine are not known to be harmful to pregnant women. But if pregnant women become infected with the coronavirus, they are at an increased risk of developing more severe illnesses.