Pregnant women in Cornwall urged to get Covid jabs amid new warning
New data shows that nearly 20% of the most critically ill Covid patients are pregnant women who have not been vaccinated
Pregnant women across Cornwall are being urged to get their Covid jabs as new data shows that nearly 20 per cent of the most critically ill coronavirus patients are mums-to-be who have not been vaccinated.
Since July, one in five Covid patients receiving treatment through a special lung-bypass machine were expectant mums who have not had their first jab.
Pregnant women have been treated with a therapy, called Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), used only when a patient’s lungs are so damaged by Covid that a ventilator cannot maintain oxygen levels.
England’s top midwife is today (11th October) reassuring women that the vaccine is safe and effective during pregnancy and is recommended by clinicians and charities.
Out of all women between the ages of 16 and 49 on ECMO in intensive care, pregnant women make up almost a third (32 percent) – up from just 6 per cent at the start of the pandemic, March 2020.
Dr Whitney Curry is from Cornwall Council's public health team.
She told us: "I would definitely encourage everyone to have have a chat with your clinician first of all, but actually the guidance is straight forward - get your jab. It's really protective for you, it's really protective for the baby as well. Because what we know is that when you get Covid when you're pregnant you're actually at very high risk for complications in your third trimester, particularly premature delivery, and that can have really serious affects for mum and baby, so we want to make sure that they're well protected."
She is also reassuring pregnant women that there has been research to show the jabs are safe and effective.
She added: "There is a misconception that there isn't any evidence, but actually in other countries such as the US and Israel, which have huge populations, they didn't specifically test it on pregnant women but they have been tracking those pregnant women who've had the jabs. It's been a huge success and incredibly protective, especially when you compare it to the effects of actually having Covid on a pregnant mum and baby, so actually while we don't test and poke around on pregnant women, we do look at that uptake and what the results have been, and it's been really super."
Mum-to-be spent nearly a month in hospital with coronavirus
Claire, 33, from Kent, was hospitalised with coronavirus for a month in July this year, and wants fellow expectant mothers to know the serious health risks that not having the COVID-19 vaccine poses to them and their unborn baby.
Claire said: “I completely understand the hesitation not to get vaccinated when you are growing a child inside you, and after experiencing two miscarriages before the pandemic, the fear of being pregnant again with the worry of COVID was sending my anxiety through the roof.
“But after what happened, I can honestly say that the risk of not having the COVID vaccine far outweighs any doubts about having it”.
A few days after testing positive for COVID on 7 July, Claire was admitted to her local hospital in Kent with difficulty breathing, where she was then put on a ventilator while in a medically induced coma.
Unfortunately, her condition deteriorated, so medics told Claire and her husband to prepare for the possibility of an emergency c-section at just 26 weeks into her pregnancy.
With her condition continuing to get worse, Claire was transferred to another hospital in London where the clinical team managed to ensure she did not need an early c-section.
On 4 August, nearly a month after she was initially admitted to hospital, Claire was allowed to go home, where she is gradually recovering with her husband, and their unborn child, who is doing well.
Claire is now urging other pregnant women to consider getting the COVID vaccine to significantly reduce their risk of catching coronavirus and having the same experience.
'Stark reminder that Covid jab can keep you and your baby safe'
Since vaccinations began in December 2020, almost every person who has received ECMO for Covid in the UK has been unvaccinated, NHS data shows.
Data from Public Health England showed that over 81,000 pregnant women have received the first dose of the life-saving Covid jab, and around 65,000 have received their second dose.
Health chiefs are now calling on all expectant mums to get vaccinated to protect them and their baby against coronavirus.
Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, Chief Midwifery Officer for England, said: “This is another stark reminder that the Covid-19 jab can keep you, your baby and your loved ones, safe and out of hospital. You can receive vaccination at any time in pregnancy, but the risks that unvaccinated pregnant women face of becoming severely unwell if they catch Covid-19 show exactly why we advise you to do so as soon as possible”.
Covid vaccination in pregnancy is considered safe and is recommended by the Royal College of Obstetricians, Royal College of Midwives and the UK Tetralogy Service. Data from over 100,000 Covid vaccinations in pregnancy in England and Scotland, and a further 160,000 in the US, show there has been no subsequent harm to the foetus or infant.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives have both recommended vaccination as one of the best defences for pregnant women against severe Covid-19 infection, while the independent JCVI confirms the jab has been shown to be effective and safe for women carrying a baby.