Two U.S. senators have backed bills to eliminate financial barriers that keep many pregnant women from getting vaccines, reports The 19th News.
As of 2019, 65 percent of pregnant women were not getting flu shots and Tdap vaccines recommended by federal health officials, according to the CDC.
Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., have jointly backed the bills, shared first with The 19th News.
The first bill would require Medicaid to cover all federally recommended vaccines for women during pregnancy without any out-of-pocket costs. The second would require the U.S. government to provide states with resources to improve vaccination rates and implement a data collection system for perinatal vaccinations among Medicaid recipients.
Learn more about the bills here.
More articles on public health:
31 states where COVID-19 is spreading fastest, slowest: Sept. 30
COVID-19 hospitalizations by state: Sept. 30
States ranked by COVID-19 cases: Sept. 30