Pregnant women have been made a priority group for covid vaccination by the UK’s vaccines watchdog, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)
Experts say they are at heightened risk from Covid and should get jabbed to protect themselves and their child.
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The move follows research allegedly showing that pregnant women are vulnerable to more serious illness and pregnancy complications if they are infected with the virus.
The Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists issued a joint statement welcoming the recognition that pregnant women were an at-risk group. They also suggested offering the jab in all antenatal clinics.
The BBC reports: Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, Prof Wei Shen Lim, said: “Women who are pregnant are strongly encouraged to have a first, second or booster vaccine dose as appropriate in order to better protect yourself and your baby from any serious consequences from Covid-19.”
Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “The serious risks posed to women who become infected with Covid-19 during pregnancy have become increasingly clear.
“We know the vaccines used in the UK Covid-19 vaccination programme have been highly effective in preventing serious complications.”
Since mid-April, mothers-to-be have been offered the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna jab, with the second dose recommended eight weeks after the first.
Pregnant women are advised to book their booster dose three months after their second.
At the beginning of the UK vaccine programme, the advice was for pregnant women to be offered vaccines if they were in a high-risk group or at high risk of exposure.
Niamh Harris