Coming shortly on the heels of news that the CDC will recommend pregnant women be among the first to get the swine flu vaccine, The Mercury News today says two new moms in the San Francisco area have died from the virus.

Earlier this week, the CDC released data showing that pregnant women infected with the virus have a higher rate of hospitalization and complications. And pregnant women accounted for a greater percentage of deaths than they represent in the general population.

The CDC has details on 266 of the 305 U.S. swine-flu deaths reported as of July 29. Fifteen of these 266 deaths — about 6 percent — were among pregnant women. At any time, only 1 percent of the general population is pregnant.

The Mercury News explains that "pregnancy changes both the lung capacity and immunology of women, making it harder for them to fend off respiratory infections."

So the CDC is now recommending that doctors act quickly in giving pregnant women anti-viral drugs when they contract swine flu, and that pregnant women be a top priority for vaccination when the vaccine becomes available.

But this story from NPR points out that it may be difficult to convince pregnant women — and their doctors.

Health officials have had a difficult time in general persuading pregnant women to get vaccinated against seasonal flu. The CDC has stepped up its campaign over the past five years, yet fewer than 15 percent of pregnant women get seasonal flu shots.

"There's a real hesitancy on the part of pregnant women to take anything during pregnancy," says Dr. Denise Jamieson, an author of the new CDC study. "A lot of women want to avoid all medications and all exposures."

Hoskins sees that reluctance all the time.

"I'll say, 'Mrs. Pregnant Lady, you need A and B and X.' And they say, OK. And then when I start offering the flu vaccine, they say 'Let me think about it. Do you really think I should? It's only flu.' "

And it's not just pregnant women. Their doctors are reluctant, too — both to vaccinate and, according to the report, even to prescribe anti-viral medicine to pregnant patients with the flu.

This page on Michigan.gov has a link to a weekly report of the latest flu-like illnesses by county in Michigan.

What do you think? Would you get the vaccine if you were pregnant? I think I would.

Jen Eyer is on the Community Team at AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at 734-623-2577 or jeneyer@annarbor.com, or you can visit her at the first floor office at 301 East Liberty.