London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Pregnant women urged to get Covid jab as data from England shows it is safe

Pregnant women urged to get Covid jab as data from England shows it is safe

Analysis finds vaccinated women no more likely than unvaccinated to suffer stillbirth or premature births

Health leaders are urging thousands of unvaccinated pregnant women to get vaccinated after the first official data from England found Covid jabs are safe and effective.

The analysis of more than 350,000 deliveries by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows women who have had a Covid vaccine are no more likely than unvaccinated women to suffer stillbirth, premature birth or have babies with low birthweight. It reinforces international evidence that the jabs have a good safety record in pregnant women.

Health leaders hope the fresh data will spur pregnant women who are still unvaccinated to take up the offer of a jab. Of all pregnant women in hospital with symptomatic Covid, 98% are unvaccinated. Only 22% of women who gave birth in August were vaccinated, official figures show. One in five of the most critically ill Covid patients in hospital since July have been pregnant women who have not been vaccinated.

“If you haven’t already been vaccinated, this new information should add to the reassuring safety data,” said Dr Mary Ramsay, the head of immunisation at UKHSA. “Every pregnant woman who has not yet been vaccinated should feel confident to go and get the jab, and that this will help to prevent the serious consequences of catching Covid-19 in pregnancy.”

The data shows good birth outcomes in vaccinated women who had their babies up to August this year – with no consistent differences between vaccinated women and all women in the figures for stillbirths, low baby birthweights and premature births.


Dr June Raine, the chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said: “We want to reassure all pregnant women that the Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective for them to use at all stages of pregnancy.

“Our rigorous safety monitoring of these vaccines in pregnancy shows that the vaccines are safe and that there is no increased risk of pregnancy complications, miscarriage or stillbirth.”

In the eight months between January and August 2021, 355,299 women gave birth, of whom 24,759 had received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine prior to delivery, according to the UKHSA analysis.

Preliminary figures released by the UKHSA show the stillbirth rate for vaccinated women who gave birth was 3.35 per 1,000, a similar rate to unvaccinated women (3.60 per 1,000), between January and August.

In the same period, the proportion of vaccinated women giving birth to babies with low birthweight (5.28%) was almost exactly the same as the proportion for unvaccinated women (5.36%). The proportion of premature births was 6.51% for vaccinated and 5.99% for unvaccinated women.

UKHSA said the small differences between groups may be explained by differences in the women eligible for and taking up the vaccine.

Prof Lucy Chappell, the Department of Health and Social Care’s chief scientific adviser, said: “This pandemic has created a lot of fear and uncertainty for those who are thinking about pregnancy or expecting a baby, with Covid-19 being very dangerous for pregnant women in particular.

“It is therefore really important that they get their Covid-19 vaccine – which has now protected hundreds of thousands of pregnant women around the world. Today’s data is hugely reassuring and further shows the vaccines continue to be the best way pregnant women can keep themselves and their babies safe from this virus.”

About 84,000 pregnant women have had the jab in the UK. Pregnant women aged 40 and over, who are health or social care workers or are in an at-risk group are now also eligible for booster vaccines, six months after their second dose.

Dr Nikki Kanani, a GP and deputy lead for the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme, said: “This new and encouraging research shows there are no significant concerns about the safety of Covid-19 vaccines in pregnancy, so we will continue to advise midwives and clinicians to give expectant mums the information and support they need to make the right decision for them and their babies.”

Figures also show uptake in the most deprived areas and for those from certain minority ethnic communities is lower than for other areas or ethnicities. It follows a similar pattern to the uptake figures for these groups in the general population. This includes 5.5% of black pregnant women and 7.8% of pregnant women from the most deprived areas being vaccinated.

“We are concerned that women of black ethnicity and those living in the most deprived areas in England were least likely to have been vaccinated before they gave birth,” said Dr Edward Morris, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. “Efforts must be strengthened to support and encourage these groups – who are already at the highest risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes – to accept the offer of vaccination.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
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
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
×