A study involving nearly 132,000 women in Scotland found nearly all pregnant women who were admitted to critical care for COVID-19-related illness were unvaccinated, according to the findings published Jan. 13 in Nature Medicine.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh Usher Institute in the U.K. used data from the COVID-19 in Pregnancy in Scotland study, a national cohort of all women who were pregnant or became pregnant after March 1, 2020. Overall, the database included information on 145,424 pregnancies in 131,751 women.
The study found 4,950 COVID-19 cases during pregnancy from Dec. 1, 2020, to Oct. 31, 2021. Of those, 77 percent occurred among women who were unvaccinated. Of cases that occurred among unvaccinated women, nearly 20 percent were associated with hospital admission. Findings also showed 98 percent of those who required critical care admission were unvaccinated.
All perinatal deaths — when a baby dies in the womb or during the newborn period — that occurred after SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy occurred among women who were unvaccinated at the time of infection, researchers said.
"Addressing low vaccine uptake rates in pregnant women is imperative to protect the health of women and babies in the ongoing pandemic," researchers said.
To view the full study, click here.