Pregnant women urged to get jab as majority unvaccinated
England's chief midwife has stepped up her call for slotxo pregnant women to get the Covid jab as soon as possible.
Estimates based on GP records and Public Health England data suggest hundreds of thousands have not had the jab, as the number of mums-to-be in hospital with the virus rises.
Other data suggests the Delta variant increases the chance of severe disease.
In the last three months, 171 pregnant women with Covid needed hospital care - but none had had both jabs.
In a letter to midwives, obstetricians and GP practices, chief midwife for England Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent says all healthcare professionals have "a responsibility to proactively encourage pregnant women" to get vaccinated.
She recommends advice on jabs be offered at every opportunity.
'Admitted every day'
Public Health England data suggests about 51,724 pregnant women have received one Covid vaccine in England so far. Of these, around 20,648 have had their second dose.
This is out of approximately 606,500 pregnant women in England in 2020-21, based on estimates from GP records.
While uncommon, severe illness with Covid-19 is more likely in later pregnancy.
Lead researcher Prof Marian Knight, from Oxford University, said she was very concerned about the recent rise in pregnant women in hospital with the disease - though numbers are not as high as those seen during earlier peaks in the pandemic.
She said: "Though this rise is in line with increases we are seeing in the young population, I am concerned because recent surveys have shown many pregnant women still have some worries about getting the jab.
