Emerging data shows pregnant women with COVID-19 are at significantly
higher risk of severe outcomes compared to non-pregnant women of similar
age. This review discusses the invaluable insight revealed from vaccine
clinical trials in women who were vaccinated and inadvertently became
pregnant during the trial period. It further explores a number of
clinical avenues in their management and proposes a drug development
strategy in-line with clinical trials for vaccines and drug treatments
for the drug development community. Little is known of the long-term
effects of COVID-19 on the mother and the baby. We provide a rationale
for our hypothesis that COVID-19 predisposes pregnant women to
cardiovascular diseases later in life, in a similar way, to preeclampsia
and may increase the risk of preeclampsia in their subsequent pregnancy.
This is an ever-evolving landscape and early knowledge for healthcare
providers and drug innovators is offered to ensure benefits outweigh the
risks.