COVID-19: Patient Safety Message

Update November, 5th, 2021

As your women’s health care team, we would like to thank you for continuing to partner with us as we navigate these unprecedented changes in health care. We are grateful for your understanding as we evolve and adapt how we provide care for you during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to keep you as informed as possible during this time, we wanted to share a few updates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We are taking precautions to keep you safe in our clinics with additional deep cleaning, social distancing in our waiting room, and decreasing the volume of patients. 

Mask Policy:

Following the MN Statewide mask mandate and CDC guidelines, OGI requires all patients to wear a mask to clinic appointments and leave it on for the duration of their visit to help decrease the risk of asymptomatic transmission.  (Face shields alone are not recommended by the CDC for a healthcare setting.)  Our mask supplies are limited, so please try to remember to bring your mask to each visit. 

Guest Policy:

We are currently allowing patients to bring one guest with them to their appointments.

Additional Resources:

Vaccination Recommendation:

According to the CDC, SMFM and ACOG, COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people 12 years and older, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future. There is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men. Recent studies have also shown that there is no increased risk of miscarriage in pregnant people who received COVID-19 vaccines. None of the COVID-19 vaccines available contain live virus so there is no way to get an infection from vaccination.

Pregnant and recently pregnant people are more likely to get severely ill with COVID-19 compared with non-pregnant people. Pregnant people with symptomatic COVID-19 infection have a two-fold risk of admission into intensive care and a 70 percent increased risk of death. There is also an increased risk for adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes including preterm birth, stillbirth, and admission of the baby into intensive care unit in people with COVID-19 infections.

Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is the best way to protect you from severe illness from COVID-19. All available vaccines in the United States are safe and effective. Additionally, vaccination of pregnant or breastfeeding people builds antibodies that pass to their baby. COVID-19 vaccines may be administered simultaneously with other vaccines, including within 14 days of receipt of another vaccine.

If you are pregnant and received your second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least six months ago, a booster dose is recommended. There is not yet enough evidence to recommend a booster in those who have received the Moderna or Johnson and Johnson vaccines.

Booster Recommendation:

It is recommended that pregnant and postpartum women get the booster dose. You can get this any time during pregnancy. If you were originally vaccinated before pregnancy and you are now pregnant, you should still get a booster.

Johnson & Johnson – Everyone who got a Johnson & Johnson vaccine should get a booster dose at least 2 months after their first dose. This includes pregnant and recently pregnant women.

Pfizer and Moderna – ACOG recommends you get a booster dose if you are pregnant or up to 6 weeks postpartum, and you got the second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least 6 months ago.

Additional Sources: