News — COVID-19

A press release on Friday 16th April has confirmed that pregnant women should now be offered the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as the rest of the population. This will also be based on their age and clinical risk group.

The press release on the gov.uk website confirmed that "Real-world data from the United States shows that around 90,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated, mainly with mRNA vaccines including Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, without any safety concerns being raised."

Pregnant women have been advised to discuss the risks and benefits with their GP/midwife, if you have any increased risks of a severe outcome if you contracted COVID-19 this would be taken into account of when a vaccination would be offered to you.

Whilst there is no evidence to suggest other vaccines would be harmful the preference is aimed towards Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines as these hold the real-world safety data.

Data has also shown that:

• "Though uncommon, severe illness due to COVID-19 is more likely in later pregnancy.
• "Pregnant women who do get symptomatic COVID-19 infection are 2 to 3 times more likely to give birth to their baby prematurely.
  
• "The greatest risk factor for severe outcomes from COVID-19 is age, which is why pregnant women should be invited for vaccination along with their age or clinical risk group."