Pregnant women should be offered Covid vaccine

Pregnant women should be offered a Covid jab when other people their age get one, the UK's vaccine advisers say.

They say the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are preferable because data from the US in 90,000 pregnant women has not raised any safety concerns.

Up until now, only women with underlying health conditions or those whose risk of exposure to the virus was high were eligible.

The shift in advice brings the UK into line with other countries.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation now advises that pregnant women should all be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines where available, at the same time as the rest of the population.

They are encouraged to discuss the risks and benefits of the vaccines with their doctor before making the appointment, but it is not a requirement.

"There is no evidence to suggest that other vaccines are unsafe for pregnant women, but more research is needed," it added.

Currently, there is a lack of data on the AstraZeneca vaccine in pregnancy because pregnant women were not included in trials, but the JCVI says more evidence may be forthcoming in the near future.

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Source: BBC News, 17 April 2021