CDC urges pregnant people to get vaccinated against COVID-19
11 August 2021
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strengthened its recommendation that pregnant or breastfeeding women get vaccinated against the coronavirus, saying data suggest that pregnant people face an increased risk of developing a severe illness from COVID-19.
Why it matters: Scientists found no increased risk for miscarriage among people who received a coronavirus vaccine during pregnancy, the CDC said, adding that the benefits of vaccines outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination, such as a rare allergic reaction.
Driving the news: There is also no evidence that vaccines cause fertility problems in women or men, per the CDC.
- Studies also found that coronavirus antibodies created after a pregnant person received a vaccine were found in umbilical cord blood, suggesting that vaccinations during pregnancy may produce antibodies that could protect babies against the virus.
The big picture: The World Health Organization and previous studies have also indicated that coronavirus vaccines are safe for pregnant women.
Go deeper:Vaccine boosters could be necessary as soon as September
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.