Study: 99% of pregnant women hospitalised with COVID-19 unvaccinated
More than 99% of pregnant women admitted to hospital with symptomatic COVID-19 are unvaccinated, a study supported by regional hospitals has found.
Of 742 women admitted since February, only four had received a single dose of vaccine and none had received both doses.
The severity of illness appears to also have become worse. The study shows 24% of women admitted in the first wave had moderate or severe disease compared with 36% with the Alpha variant and 45% with the Delta variant.
The virus poses significant risks to both mother and baby. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to becoming severely ill and around one in ten admitted to hospital with symptoms require intensive care. One in five admitted with symptoms give birth prematurely.
The study used data from the UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS), including from patients at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.
Read more about the UKOSS study on the NIHR website.
