Health Canada is out with a Twitter poll asking Canadians about COVID-19 vaccination reducing the risk of serious illness, and it has backfired for the agency. .Canada's public health agency launched the poll on Twitter Tuesday morning and left it open for the public to vote for 24 hours, closing just after 9 a.m. MST on Wednesday. ."True or False: Vaccination reduces your risk of experiencing serious illness from COVID-19 and related #pregnancy complications," said the tweet. .Just before the poll closed, there were more than 37,450 votes and the overwhelming majority of people at 87.2% voted false. .In a follow up tweet, Health Canada said, "the answer is true." ."The mRNA #COVIDVaccines are highly effective at preventing severe illness and pregnancy complications from COVID-19. A booster dose provides additional protection," it said with a link to information regarding COVID-19 vaccination and pregnancy on the Government of Canada website. .Although the vaccine is touted to be "safe and effective" for pregnant women by Health Canada, there is a discrepancy between information reported via Pfizer, online and on its leaflet, and official government advice..Recently released documents from Pfizer's own vaccine trials revealed it did not enroll pregnant women in their trials and indicated there was insufficient data regarding the vaccine in pregnancy. .According to a release on Pfizer's website dated February 2021, the vaccine maker confirmed data is "insufficient to inform vaccine-associated risks in pregnancy." .A Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine leaflet published online instructs pregnant and breastfeeding mothers to contact their doctor before receiving the vaccine and suggests "information on effects on pregnancy or the newborn baby after vaccination during the first trimester is limited."
