England’s chief physician, Professor Chris Whitty said that the advantages of vaccination outweigh any risks.
England’s chief Medical Officer warned today that almost every woman who is admitted to intensive care because of the coronavirus infection is not vaccinated.
Professor Chris Whitty urged mothers-to-be get jabbed as he shared ‘stark’ figures that just 33 vaccinated pregnant women were admitted to hospital with Covid between February and September.
Comparatively, 98% of hospital admissions (1 681) were for unjabbed moms-to-be.
According to him, only 3 of the pregnant infected mothers admitted to intensive care had been vaccinated, as compared with 232 women who were unvaccinated.
At a Downing Street press conference, Professor Whitty stated that unvaccinated pregnant mothers can be hospitalized and that vaccinations are “preventable”. He also said it was clear that the vaccines’ benefits far outweigh any risks.
The current Covid jabs are not known to cause fertility problems or make it unsafe for unborn babies.
Many women are reluctant to have their jabs done due to misinformation or reports about temporary changes in menstrual flow after receiving an injection.
The top midwife in England, who is based in England, urged pregnant women to have their jabs last month.
Professor Whitty said: ‘I would… like to pull out in particular the issue of women who are pregnant or intending to get pregnant.
“And I’d just like you to tell me some very stark facts because this is an important concern.
‘Based on academic data from February 1 to September 30… 1,714 pregnant women were admitted to hospital with Covid.
1.681 of them, which would be 98%, hadn’t been vaccinated.
‘And if you go to those who are very severely ill in intensive care, of 235 women admitted to ICU, 232 of them – over 98 per cent – had not been vaccinated.
“These were preventable admissions into ICU, and there have been fatalities.
He said, “All medical opinions are really clear that vaccinations have many benefits outweighing the risks.”
“This belief is held by doctors as well as midwives and scientists alike.
“So I can please encourage any pregnant woman or anyone wishing for one to get their shot.
Because side effects are reported to be similar in women with and without pregnancies, there is no proof that vaccines pose a risk.
The virus can pose a higher risk for pregnant women if caught during the third trimester of pregnancy or are suffering from underlying conditions. There have also been more stillbirths in this age group.
The data also show that there are no proofs the jabs cause harm to unborn children and no vaccine ingredient can infect them.
British Fertility Society and Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists reassured women that they have no evidence or mechanisms to support the idea of jabs affecting fertility.
Following today’s announcement by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, 8million people will receive Covid booster shots in their 40s. Second doses are recommended for 16 and 17.
They said that people can come forward to get them “with confidence that they’re safe and effective”. Over 12 million top-up dosages have been given.
Today’s data from the UK Health Security Agency showed that people who have had a third shot in spring are 80 per cent more likely to contract symptomatic Covid.
While it has been difficult to quantify the effects on death and hospitalisation, officials stated that they expect protection to be even higher.
After the announcement was made, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, acknowledged that Christmas locks might not be possible. He also appealed to Britons to receive their booster Covid jabs.
The PM — who appeared to be suffering from a cold — warned that ‘storm clouds’ of infection were gathering over Europe and forcing nations back into restrictions, which highlighted how the UK ‘cannot afford to be complacent’.
He said that if Britons want to ‘avoid restrictions on daily lives’ then they should get a booster, adding that it would be an ‘utter tragedy’ if double-vaccinated people died from Covid because they didn’t get one.
According to him, people could need evidence of booster vaccinations in order to be considered “fully vaccinated” in the future. This move would create new chaos for Britons traveling plans.
The PM was asked whether a lockdown might be needed if the number of cases continues to increase. He replied, “clearly we can’t rule anything out”, but insisted He didn’t see anything in the data that said he had to move now.
The comments came after Austria announced a draconian new lockdown on the unvaccinated, after a dramatic increase in infections, and the Netherlands imposed a curfew on pubs and restaurants to deal with rising cases.
The outbreaks in France, Germany and Italy are also on the rise. Today, Patrick Vallance (his chief scientist) and Chris Whitty (his chief scientists) joined the PM at today’s Government Covid Briefing.
Professor Whitty claimed that, even though Covid numbers were ‘broadly flat,’ there was still’substantial demand on the NHS. This is well-recognized by everyone, ministers included.
“But, in terms of Covid numbers they aren’t currently going up in the type of numbers that you’re seeing across continental Europe. But obviously, if they did, that would mean that we’d have to reevaluate the current situation.