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Study Prompts Call to Examine Link Between Flu Shots, Miscarriage

Experts: Study doesn’t change recommendations for pregnant women to get annual vaccine.

A study of pregnancy in the U.S. found that women who experienced miscarriages between 2010 and 2012 were more likely to have had annual flu shots back-to-back. Experts said they believe the results might reflect the older age of women in the study, rather than the flu shots. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned that the flu itself is still a much greater damage to women and their babies than the link found in the study. Still, the CDC has reached out to other groups to warn them of a potential vaccine-backlash in the wake of the study. “I want the CDC and researchers to continue to investigate this,” Laura Riley, an obstetrician, told the Associated Press. “But as an advocate for pregnant women, what I hope doesn’t happen is that people panic and stop getting vaccinated.”