Press Release 10th January 2022: Pregnant women are still struggling to access booster jabs
54% of pregnant women who want to have a booster jab but have been unable to access it say they can’t get an appointment.
Pregnant Then Screwed is today releasing figures from a new study of 6,030 pregnant women which reveals that despite the Government moving pregnant women into a priority group for vaccination on the 16th of December, little is being done to help pregnant women access booster jabs.
Of the 6030 pregnant women surveyed who had received at least one dose of the vaccine, 29% had not yet had the booster with a quarter saying they don’t want it and 15% saying they have been unable to access it.
When asked why they were unable to access the booster
- 54% had been unable to get an appointment
- 12% didn’t want to stand in long queues whilst pregnant
- 9% were too unwell to leave the house
- 7% said their vaccination centre was too far away to access
- 5% said they went to get a booster but were refused due to being pregnant
Pregnant Then Screwed also asked 6906 pregnant women about their mental health
- 50.4% said that the spread of misinformation was causing them stress
- 47.4% said that a lack of information about the safety of the vaccine has caused them stress
- 29.1% said that a lack of priority access to the vaccine has caused them stress
This data is being released on the day the Government has announced a new marketing campaign which will encourage pregnant women to have the booster vaccine, after it was revealed that nearly all pregnant women who attended hospital due to Covid19 were unvaccinated.
‘As Covid cases continue to rise, pregnant women are extremely vulnerable as so many are unvaccinated. Our survey demonstrates how a lack of prioritisation for this group of women has left many unprotected. Even though pregnant women were finally placed in priority group 6 last month, this does not mean they have had priority access to book their vaccine, and little has been done to make it easier for pregnant women to receive their vaccine, such as deploying vaccination teams in maternity units.’
‘We wrote to Sajid Javid in July 2021 to ask that the Government take a number of actions to protect pregnant women from Covid19. One of our requests was a Government lead marketing campaign to increase vaccination uptake rates in this group. Although it is frustrating that it has taken so long we are thrilled this request has finally been actioned. Since last April we have been inundated with questions about the vaccine in pregnancy. The Q&A events we hosted with experts have been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating how desperate people have been for information. The key reasons we have seen such low uptake rates in this group is due to misinformation (both on the internet and from health professionals), and a lack of clear, factual information. This marketing campaign is a crucial component in the race to vaccinate this vulnerable group of women. Now we are calling on Ministers to establish vaccination teams in maternity units, and to consider ways to prioritise pregnant women for vaccination at every stage of the system. ’’
For further press information or case studies from Pregnant Then Screwed please contact:[email protected]
Notes to Editor:
About the research:
6906 pregnant women responded to questions about mental health.
6486 pregnant women responded to questions about the vaccine.
