Unvaccinated pregnant women battling Covid-19 in ICUs in Northern Ireland
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LIVE UPDATES: Coronavirus NI - Unvaccinated pregnant women battling Covid-19 in ICUs in Northern Ireland
Three additional Covid-19 related deaths and almost 1,700 new infections in last 24 hours
Three further deaths of patients who had tested positive for Covid-19 have been reported in Northern Ireland.
The Department of Health said there had also been 1,641 new confirmed cases of the virus in the last 24-hour reporting period.
On Thursday morning there were 226 Covid-positive patients in hospital, of whom 39 were in intensive care.
A total of 2,292,163 vaccines have been administered.
Unvaccinated pregnant women battling Covid-19 in ICUs in Northern Ireland
Pregnant women who declined the offer of Covid-19 vaccinations are now being hospitalised and treated for the virus in hospitals across Northern Ireland.
Health sources have confirmed that there has been a significant increase in the number of pregnant women being hospitalised with Covid-19, the vast majority of which have rejected the offer of Covid-19 vaccination.
The current vaccine advice concerning pregnant women or mothers who are breastfeeding is as follows:
Although clinical trials on the use of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy are not advanced, the available data does not indicate any harm to pregnancy.
If you are pregnant you will be able to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as the rest of the population based on your age and clinical risk group.
You may wish to discuss having it with your doctor or midwife.
If you decide to have a COVID-19 vaccine, tell the vaccination team that you are pregnant so that this can be recorded.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are the preferred vaccines for pregnant women of any age, because of more extensive experience of their use in pregnancy. These vaccines are administered at Trust vaccination centres.
However, if you are pregnant and have had the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, you should get a second dose of the same vaccine.
There is no known risk associated with any current COVID-19 vaccines whilst breastfeeding.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises that breastfeeding women may be offered any suitable COVID-19 vaccine. Talk to your doctor or midwife if you have any concerns.
The Belfast Telegraph first broke this story on Thursday morning.
For more information please visit: COVID-19 vaccination - A guide for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and translations
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