The Canadian Surveillance of COVID-19 in Pregnancy: Epidemiology, Maternal and Infant Outcomes

Towards the goal of understanding the burden of COVID-19 on pregnancy, the Canadian Surveillance of COVID-19 in Pregnancy: Epidemiology, Maternal and Infant Outcomes (CANCOVID-Preg) was initiated. CANCOVID-preg is a national surveillance project that tracks all pregnant cases with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection. To date, our team has developed four reports outlining preliminary Canadian data from a subset of provinces. Results indicate that pregnant persons are at increased risk of severe illness related to COVID-19. These reports were, in turn, used by public health officials in the decision to prioritize pregnant populations for vaccination in Canada and informed three statements on COVID-19 in pregnancy published by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. Despite public health recommendations, high rates of vaccine hesitancy exist among pregnant persons. Additionally, a proportion of fully vaccinated individuals are now developing symptomatic, or asymptomatic, COVID-19 breakthrough infections. With lower vaccination rates, and the occurrence of breakthrough infections, the need to understand variant transmission and severity over time, in vaccinated and unvaccinated, pregnant populations has become a crucial next step in the rapidly evolving pandemic. By directly addressing the health of this underserved population, CANCOVID-Preg meets the Differential Impacts of COVID-19 on Historically Excluded or Underserved Populations research area. This project also meets both CIHR objectives by leveraging CANCOVID-Preg's existing surveillance network and real-time evidence to optimize Canada's pandemic response, thereby mitigating the negative consequences of COVID-19 for both new mothers and their infants.