International Journal of General Medicine (Jan 2021)
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for COVID-19 in Pregnant Women
Abstract
Melissa C Fesler,1,2 Raphael B Stricker1,2 1Alan E. Beer Medical Center for Reproductive Immunology, Los Gatos, CA, USA; 2Union Square Medical Associates, San Francisco, CA, USACorrespondence: Raphael B StrickerUnion Square Medical Associates, 450 Sutter Street, Suite 1504, San Francisco, CA 94108, USATel +1 415-399-1035Email [email protected]: Pregnant women are at higher risk for developing severe complications of COVID-19 including preterm delivery, respiratory failure, and death. Although vaccines to prevent COVID-19 are being developed, pregnant women are not included in the current COVID-19 vaccine trials and initially this population may not be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines due to lack of safety testing in pregnancy. As an alternate approach, we discuss the concept of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) using medications that are approved for use in pregnant women to prevent gestational problems and severe illness in this high-risk population. In particular, the use of hydroxychloroquine PrEP affords a safe and readily available means to avoid COVID-19 complications in pregnancy.Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, pregnancy, pre-exposure prophylaxis, hydroxychloroquine, vaccine
