Pregnant women urged not to delay getting jab

Pregnant women are being urged not to delay getting their Covid jab or booster in a government campaign.

More than 96% of pregnant women admitted to hospital with Covid symptoms between May and October last year were unvaccinated, according to the UK Obstetric Surveillance System.

The campaign will share testimonies of pregnant women who have had the jab on radio and social media.

The government said the vaccine was safe and had no impact on fertility.

In December, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation added pregnant women to the priority list for the vaccine, saying they were at heightened risk from Covid.

Around one in five pregnant women admitted to hospital with the virus needed to be delivered pre-term to help them recover, and one in five of their babies needed care in the neonatal unit, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.

Prof Lucy Chappell, chief scientific adviser to the DHSC, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a third of unvaccinated pregnant women with COVID-19 needed help with breathing and one in six were admitted to intensive care.

"We've also seen stillbirths and neonatal deaths in the latest wave," she said.

Prof Chappell said the vaccine causes pregnant women to produce antibodies against the virus, which cross over to their babies and give them protection too.

Dr Jen Jardine, from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, who is seven months pregnant and has had her booster jab, said: "Both as a doctor and pregnant mother myself, we can now be very confident that the Covid-19 vaccinations provide the best possible protection for you and your unborn child against this virus."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 10 January 2022