A senior public health official has highlighted the importance of COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women.

National Health Strategy 2018-2022 Lead for Healthy Women Leading to Healthy Pregnancies, Dr Najat Khenyab, has asked unvaccinated expectant women to act now and take the COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves and their unborn babies against the virus.

The message comes in light of the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, which is said to be highly infectious, and has been found in Qatar like several other countries across the world.

“With the delta COVID-19 strain currently in circulation in Qatar, it is more important than ever for pregnant women to get inoculated against the virus. The delta variant is more transmissible and causes more severe symptoms than other strains. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy can protect you from severe illness from the disease,” Dr Khenyab said.

“Around the world, hundreds of thousands of pregnant women have been vaccinated, mainly with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and no notable safety concerns have been identified. The vaccines are highly effective – almost all hospital admissions are for individuals who are not fully vaccinated,” she added.

Dr. Najat Khenyab, National Health Strategy 2018-2022 Lead for Healthy Women Leading to Healthy Pregnancies encourages pregnant women to book an appointment soon to receive COVID-19 vaccine to protect themselves and their unborn babies from severe illness from COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/E7qwijXAGe

— مؤسسة حمد الطبية (@HMC_Qatar) August 11, 2021

The senior public health official pointed toward the World Health Organization (WHO) guidance that states that pregnant women are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 compared with women of childbearing age who are not pregnant and that COVID-19 has been associated with an increased risk of preterm births.

“Pregnant women are at increased risk for severe outcomes when they get COVID-19 and even if they're healthy, the pregnancy itself makes them susceptible to some of the complications of the virus. Therefore, pregnant women are more likely to have severe COVID-19 and more likely to be hospitalized, and any severe illness in pregnancy increases the risk to the outcome of the pregnancy,” Dr Khenyab explained.

Moreover, expectant women with COVID-19 are at an increased risk of preterm birth and might be at increased risk of other adverse pregnancy outcomes in comparison to pregnant women without COVID-19, the official highlighted.

Visit the MOPH’s website Registration for Covid-19 Vaccine and Appointment Request (moph.gov.qa) to book your COVID-19 vaccination appointment or directly contact your primary health center.

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Source: HMC