British health authorities are urging more pregnant women to get their COVID-19 vaccination jab following a national study which found that the Delta variant increases risk of severe symptoms. Chief midwifery officer for England Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent wrote an open letter to GPs and midwives which urges them to encourage any expectant mother to get their vaccine. Described as calling on pregnant women to protect themselves and their babies, Dunkley-Bent was joined by The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College of Midwives in the move to encourage the pregnant mothers. 

Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are the two jabs being recommended in this scenario as it has already been given to around 130,000 pregnant women in the United States. A paper which concerns national data found that the number of pregnant women needing hospitalisation for moderate or severe infections rose significantly after the Delta variant dominated in the month of May onwards. 

The paper by the University of Oxford researchers concluded that pregnant women hospitalised during the wave of Delta variant infections were more susceptible to contracting pneumonia. A third of these admissions required respiratory support, making the situation far more concerning. None of more than 3000 pregnant women admitted to hospital with virus symptoms since February proved to be fully vaccinated. It was also shown through a RCOG survey that 58% of pregnant women offered vaccination declined it as they either feared harming the baby or were waiting on more safety information. 

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Photo Source: Weill Cornell Medicine Newsroom