One in three women of childbearing age in ICU this year was pregnant or had just given birth, according to the Institute of Obstetricians.
Highlighting the disproportionate effect of Covid-19 on pregnant women, the institute says some of these women were young and had to stay in ICU for weeks.
Amid concern over low Covid-19 vaccination rates among pregnant women, the institute has urged its members to use every opportunity to discuss vaccination with patients, “especially those with low scientific literacy who may not have accurate information”.
Where women are hesitant, partners should be encouraged to avail of the vaccine, institute chairwoman Dr Cliona Murphy has advised.
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Covid-19 vaccination is available to pregnant women between 14 and 36 weeks, under recommendations from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac).
According to the Health Service Executive (HSE), there is good international evidence that the Delta variant will have a "more profound adverse effect" on pregnant women than previous variants.
On Wednesday, the master of the Rotunda maternity hospital in Dublin revealed that about 60 per cent of patients and visitors to the hospital were unvaccinated.
Prof Fergal Malone cited this as a reason for not lifting restrictions on partners.
This week only 39 per cent of expectant mothers were vaccinated and just 41 per cent of their partners were fully vaccinated, he said.
Vaccine hesitancy
“It’s not surprising that there’s some vaccine hesitancy, but what that means is 60 per cent of patients and their partners walking around the Rotunda hospital today are not vaccinated and are therefore vulnerable to Covid infection – more likely to transmit.”
The Coombe maternity hospital was unable to provide vaccination data for patients on Wednesday.
The Rotunda is currently allowing partners to attend early pregnancy scanning up to 12 weeks and anomaly scans, but says it cannot accommodate unrestricted visiting at other times.
According to the HSE, pregnant women are consulted on their vaccine at their booking visit, which occurs at 12 to 14 weeks’ gestation. It was unable to provide figures for the number of such consultations, due to the cyberattack on its IT systems.
There have been six stillbirths with links to Covid-19 infection, according to the HSE. There was also one late miscarriage with a proven link to Covid-related placentitis, and several “near misses”.
“Additionally, there has been one very recent case of a sick woman where the baby also died and that’s under investigation at the moment,” a spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, Dr Ronan Glynn, deputy chief medical officer at the Department of Health, has responded to what he called “increased commentary, both nationally and internationally, relating to infections in people who have been fully vaccinated”.
Press office
In an article circulated on Wednesday evening by the department’s press office, Dr Glynn said: “As vaccination rates increase, there will be more vaccinated and fewer unvaccinated people in the population. As a result, the proportion of cases in vaccinated people will increase.”
However, he said, “we can be very confident that the absolute number of cases in vaccinated people will decrease over time.”
Moreover, the individual risk of a severe illness or death is much lower when someone is vaccinated, as reflected in ICU and mortality data.
Of 169 adults admitted to ICU with Covid-19 since April 1st, just six had been fully vaccinated more than 14 days prior to their diagnosis. Of 155 adults who had died with Covid-19 since April 1st, just seven had been fully vaccinated more than 14 days prior to their diagnosis, Dr Glynn said.
A total of 1,819 confirmed cases of Covid-19 were reported in the State on Wednesday. As of 8am on Wednesday, 206 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised, of which 36 were in ICU.
In Northern Ireland, a further three people with Covid-19 have died while an additional 1,467 new cases of the virus were confirmed.
A total of 321 people with Covid-19 were receiving hospital treatment in Northern Ireland, with 40 in intensive care on Wednesday.
