Cristina Hodgson
THE number of pregnant women admitted to hospital in Malaga with coronavirus has soared in recent weeks.
In fact, of the 39 pregnant women hospitalised in Andalucia for COVID-19, over half, 23, are in Malaga.
All the hospitalised pregnant women are unvaccinated, except for one who has only received the first dose.
Health leaders are concerned that a growing prevalence of COVID-19 and hesitancy to get a jab is fuelling a rise in infections among pregnant women, additionally pregnant women appear to be more severely affected by the Delta variant of the disease.
With the Delta variant of coronavirus posing a significantly greater risk of severe disease, health chiefs in the region have been urging pregnant women for weeks to get vaccinated against coronavirus, especially after detecting a worrying increase in the number of hospitalisations of unvaccinated pregnant women.
The Andalucian health department says that the risk of suffering from coronavirus increases in pregnant women and can affect the foetus, while the vaccine also protects the baby.
Health experts insist that ‘the vaccine is safe’ and highlight that ‘if a pregnant woman is infected with COVID-19, the risk is greater than the possible risk of the vaccine’. With vaccine administration recommended between between 20 and 32 weeks gestation.
According to a recent study by researchers at Oxford University in the UK, one in 10 pregnant women admitted to hospital with symptoms of COVID-19 often require intensive care. A finding that is reflected in Malaga, with two out of the 23 pregnant women hospitalised admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Materno Infantil due to the complications that have arisen.
The director of the Vaccination program in Andalucia, David Moreno has highlighted that those who are vaccinated are not being admitted to hospital, stressing that ‘the effectiveness of vaccination in pregnant women is clearly safe and fantastic’.
Moreno encourages all pregnant women in the region to ask for a vaccine appointment and has notified that ‘pregnant women have been prioritised for vaccination at all health centres in the region’.
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