PREGNANT women have been warned that 98 per cent who end up in hospital with Covid are unvaccinated.
The chief medical officer Prof Chris Whitty urged mums-to-be, and those trying for a baby, to take their jab offer immediately.
At the Downing Street briefing this afternoon, he laid out some “fairly stark facts” that were causing “major concern”.
Between February 1 and September 31 during which time young and working aged women were being offered the Covid vaccines, 1,714 pregnant women were admitted to hospital with Covid.
Of them, 1,681 (98 per cent) had not been vaccinated, Prof Whitty said.
Some 235 were admitted to ICU, and 232 (over 98 per cent) had not been vaccinated.
The figures represent how well the vaccines work to prevent those who have two jabs from ending up in hospital with serious disease.
Prof Whitty warned: “These are preventable admissions to ICU, and there have been deaths.
“All the medical opinions is really clear, that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks in every area. It’s the universal view among doctors, among the midwifery advisory groups, and among the scientific advisory groups.
“So can I please encourage all women who are pregnant, or wishing to become pregnant, to get their vaccine
“And I would extend that also to flu, which is also very dangerous to women who are pregnant.”
The flu vaccine is free for pregnant women, and the Covid vaccine is free for everyone.
There is no evidence to suggest the Covid vaccine affects female fertility, says the The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).
Data from more than 100,000 vaccinations in pregnancy in England and Scotland, and a further 160,000 in the US, show no subsequent harm to the foetus or infant.
However, Covid illness can threaten the health of the baby.
In pregnant women with symptoms of Covid, it is twice as likely that their baby will be born early, exposing the baby to the risk of prematurity, RCOG says.
In those who are very unwell, the risk is up to three times as high.
Most of the time, it was recommended the baby was delivered early to help the mum recover.
