Research has shown that pregnant women, particularly those in their third trimester, are at increased risk of becoming severely unwell if they get COVID-19 and, if this happens, it’s twice as likely that their baby will be born early, exposing the baby to the risk of prematurity. The decision was based on robust real-world data from the US – where around 120,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated mainly with mRNA vaccines, such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna – and no safety concerns have been raised. On 16 April, the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) announced it would be offering pregnant women the COVID-19 vaccine, in line with the vaccine roll out plan for the UK. The main reasons why women said they had declined the vaccine included because they were worried that it would harm the baby (65%) and because they were waiting on more information about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnancy (57%). 41% definitely or probably would not accept the vaccine.40% definitely or probably would accept the vaccine.Of those who have not yet been offered the vaccine (502 pregnant women):.Of those who had been offered the vaccine (844 pregnant women), 42% had accepted the vaccine and 58% declined the vaccine.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) are urging women to talk to a health professional about the COVID-19 vaccine after a survey found the majority of pregnant women in the UK declined the vaccine when they were offered it.Ī survey of 1,300 pregnant women, conducted on social media between the 17 May and, found: Vaccination provides the best protection against COVID-19 in pregnancy, say experts