London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Pregnant women in UK given green light to have Covid jab

Pregnant women in UK given green light to have Covid jab

Bereaved families welcome decision to offer Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, based on age and clinical risk

Hundreds of thousands of pregnant women in the UK have been given the green light to receive a Covid vaccine in a move welcomed by bereaved families and campaigners.

All pregnant women would be offered the Pfizer or Moderna jab based on their age and clinical risk group after real-world data from the US showed about 90,000 pregnant women had been vaccinated without any safety concerns, the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said on Friday.

Pregnant women, who had previously been advised not to take the vaccine because of a lack of data on the impact, will be able to have it at any stage. About 700,000 women give birth in England and Wales each year, with thousands more trying to conceive at any one time.

The new guidance states that women who are trying to get pregnant, recently had a baby or are breastfeeding can be vaccinated with any jab, depending on their age and clinical risk group.

Prof Wei Shen Lim of the JCVI said women should discuss the risks and benefits with their clinician, and those at increased risk should take up the offer of vaccination promptly.


“There have been no specific safety concerns from any brand of Covid-19 vaccines in relation to pregnancy,” he said. “There are more real-world safety data from the US in relation to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in women who are pregnant – therefore, we advise a preference for these to be offered to pregnant women.” The Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, which is the UK’s most used, has not yet been approved for rollout in the US.

Ernest Boateng, whose wife, Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, died after contracting the coronavirus, days after giving birth, said he hoped the vaccine would prevent other families having to go through the pain he and his children had suffered.

“I lost my wife, and she has left two kids behind. No family would want to see their pregnant wife go to hospital and not come home with her baby,” he said.

“If we are confident that these vaccines are going to be safe and it’s the best clinical decision then that is something we all want, we all want to see pregnant women protected. I welcome anything that is positive to make sure we are offering pregnant women the best support. But even with a vaccine we still need to keep other measures to help pregnant women – they need protecting.”

Dr Mary Ramsay, the head of immunisation at Public Health England (PHE), said the data provided “confidence that [mRNA vaccines] can be offered safely to pregnant women”. Dr Edward Morris, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), said vaccination offered pregnant women the best protection from Covid.

“We believe it should be a woman’s choice whether to have the vaccine or not after considering the benefits and risks,” he said. “This move will empower all the pregnant women in the UK to make the decision that is right for them, at the same time that the non-pregnant population in their age group receive protection from Covid-19.”

The news would come as a “great relief” to pregnant women and their loved ones, said Joeli Brearley, the founder of campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed. She called for the government to take a further step and prioritise pregnant women for vaccines. Some research had shown they were at greater risk of becoming severely unwell if they contracted Covid, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy, she said.

According to the RCOG, UK studies suggest pregnant women are no more likely to catch Covid than other groups. But while the majority who do get the virus have no symptoms or mild symptoms, pregnant women may be at increased risk of having severe disease – a concern echoed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pregnant women who did get symptomatic Covid-19 infection were two to three times more likely to give birth to their baby prematurely, said the JCVI.

Brearley called for sensitivity towards pregnant women who might not feel confident taking the vaccine. “This must be dealt with carefully and compassionately as we begin to relax restrictions,” she said.

She added it was still crucially important that the government forced employers to complete a risk assessment and suspend pregnant women on full pay if they could not ensure they were 2 metres away from other people at all times. “We know from our own research that this is not happening and the lives of pregnant women and their babies are being put in danger every day,” she said.

PHE and the JCVI say the vaccine can be taken at any time during pregnancy, but women should feel they are in control of decision-making. If they choose not to have the vaccine before 12 weeks because they have any concerns about the early gestation period, that should be respected.

Before the change in guidance, the JCVI advice was that Covid vaccines should be offered to pregnant women at high risk of exposure to coronavirus, such as frontline health workers, or to those with certain underlying medical conditions.

However, the JCVI had said there was not enough evidence to recommend all pregnant women be given the jab – although there was no indication in the data to suggest the vaccines could pose any harm to a pregnancy.

The lack of evidence was largely because pregnant women are often excluded from clinical trials, although some women became pregnant after receiving the jab. There are several investigations under way to look specifically at use of the vaccine in pregnant women.

On 7 April, following concerns about a rare blood-clotting syndrome that had been identified in some recipients of Covid vaccines, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) released new advice relating to the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, including a note for pregnant women.

“Pregnancy predisposes to thrombosis, therefore women should discuss with their healthcare professional whether the benefits of having the vaccine outweigh the risks for them,” the MHRA said.

The JCVI has also recommended that all healthy under-30s in the UK are offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×