Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding urged to get Covid-19 jab by health chiefs
Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding have been urged by health professionals in the Black Country not to delay having their Covid-19 vaccine.
Health chiefs made the plea as they aim to dispel the myths surrounding the jab – emphasising it doesn't contain the virus and is safe for them to have.
And although the overall risk to pregnant women and newborns is low from Covid-19, in later pregnancy some women may become seriously unwell.
Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, Wolverhampton Council's cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, said: "Covid-19 case numbers are still high in Wolverhampton and infections can be serious for pregnant women.
"The vaccine offers you the best protection you can get against Covid-19, and thousands of pregnant women have been safely vaccinated in the UK and worldwide.
"It's also safe to have your vaccine if you are breastfeeding, and doing so is recommended by both the JCVI and the World Health Organization.
"As no vaccines are 100 per cent effective, you should also continue to do everything you can to keep yourself safe from Covid-19 by practicing Hands, Face and Space. You may want to consider limiting close contact with with people you do not normally meet, and you should get a regular rapid test to reassure yourself and others that you don’t have the virus."
Pregnant women with Covid have a higher risk of being admitted to intensive care than women of the same age who aren't pregnant – and are two or three times more likely to have their babies early than women without the virus.
And pregnant women with underlying clinical conditions such as immune problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and asthma are at even higher risk of suffering serious complications from Covid-19.
It comes as latest figures show there were 283.3 new cases of coronavirus virus per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the last seven days, with 745 people testing positive.
