Resources and templates
WHO IVB documents
WHO position paper on immunization to protect infants against respiratory syncytial virus disease,...
Recommendations on the use of maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines and long-acting RSV monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to prevent severe RSV...
Questions and Answers: COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy
These questions and answers are intended to provide answers to health providers and the public on COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.
Safety of immunization during pregnancy: a review of the evidence: Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine...
The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) of WHO asked the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) to provide support to a review of...
How to implement influenza vaccination of pregnant women
WHO’s influenza recommendations aim to protect vulnerable high-risk groups from severe disease. In 2012, WHO published a position paper on influenza...
Pertussis vaccines: WHO position paper – August 2015
In accordance with its mandate to provide guidance to Member States on health policy matters, WHO issues a series of regularly updated position papers...
Dissemination and updates
The document will be maintained as a dynamic resource, with scheduled annual reviews to incorporate emerging evidence, including new clinical trial data, real-world effectiveness studies, and safety signals (e.g., evidence generated following COVID-19 vaccine deployment). Interim updates may be undertaken where critical new data or policy-relevant findings arise that could materially influence recommendations or implementation .
References
Etti M, Calvert A, Galiza E, Lim S, Khalil A, Le Doare K, et al. Maternal vaccination: a review of current evidence and recommendations. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022;226(4):459–74. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2021.10.041
Sewell CA, Sheehan SM, Gill MS, Henry LM, Bucci-Rechtweg C, Gyamfi-Bannerman C, et al. Scientific, ethical, and legal considerations for the inclusion of pregnant people in clinical trials. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022;227(6):805–11. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2022.07.037
Safety Platform for Emergency vACcines (SPEAC) [website]. Brighton Collaboration; 2023. (https://brightoncollaboration.org/speac accessed 13 March 2026).
Krubiner CB, Faden RR, Karron RA, Little MO, Lyerly AD, Abramson JS, et al. Pregnant women & vaccines against emerging epidemic threats: Ethics guidance for preparedness, research, and response. Vaccine. 2021;39(1):85–120. 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.01.011
Pregnant Women: Scientific and Ethical Considerations for Inclusion in Clinical Trials Guidance for Industry DRAFT GUIDANCE. U.S. Food and Drug Administration; 2018 (https://www.fda.gov/media/112195/download accessed 13 March 2026).
Hunt A, Banner N, Littler K. The global forum on bioethics in research meeting, “ethics of research in pregnancy”: Emerging consensus themes and outputs. Reprod Health. 2017;14(S3):158. doi: 10.1186/s12978-017-0431-1
Lyerly AD, Little MO, Faden R. The second wave: Toward responsible inclusion of pregnant women in research. Int J Fem Approaches Bioeth. 2008;1(2):5-22.
Kochhar S, Bauwens J, Bonhoeffer J. Safety assessment of immunization in pregnancy Vaccine. 2017;35(48Part A):6469–6471. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.09.033