COVID-19 and pregnancy: interrelationships with asthma and allergy.

Pregnant individuals are at higher risk of complications from respiratory viruses, such as coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Altered lung function, vaccine hesitancy, and resistance to take necessary medications due to lack of safety data in pregnancy make this population especially vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. Like many medical conditions, the treatment of allergic conditions, including asthma and allergic rhinitis, were impacted during the pandemic with decreased numbers of in-person visits and interruptions in medical treatment. There were initially no data to allow pregnant asthmatics to know if their condition put them at higher risk of complications from COVID-19. There are now increasing data for the efficacy and safety of vaccines for COVID-19 in at risk populations, including pregnant people. Vaccine studies show no increased risk for spontaneous abortion, congenital anomalies, or pregnancy complications. Furthermore, infants of individuals vaccinated during pregnancy have been shown to obtain protective antibodies via the placenta, providing protection against COVID-19 after birth. Although overall risks are low, pregnant people who get infected with COVID-19 are at higher risk for maternal and pregnancy complications. Antiviral treatment is available for pregnant people with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 with reassuring safety data to date, and dexamethasone is the mainstay of inpatient therapy.