Concern over critically ill unvaccinated pregnant women
Unvaccinated pregnant women make up one in six of the most critically ill covid cases
One in six critically ill covid-19 patients in England are unvaccinated pregnant women, according to new figures from July to September. Of the 118 covid-19 patients in England who received extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) during this time, 20 of them were pregnant. ECMO is usually given to critically ill people who have not responded to going on a ventilator.
Of the 20 pregnant women who received ECMO, just one had been vaccinated – though she had only received one dose, NHS England said. In April, the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advised that pregnant women should be offered covid-19 vaccines, preferably the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna jabs.
Out of the other 98 people who received ECMO between July and September, only seven people had been fully vaccinated, and three had received one dose of a vaccine.