Gov’t working with private facilities to boost COVID-19 vaccination rate among pregnant women

The Ministry of Health has been collaborating with private health facilities to ensure pregnant women are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony said this move has seen an uptake in the vaccination rate among pregnant women. 

During his covid update Tuesday, Dr. Anthony said pregnant women are now understanding the need to be vaccinated against the deadly virus.

“We have seen women coming forward and getting vaccinated. We have also been working with a lot of the private hospitals to ensure that women who go to these private institutions, can access the vaccine. A lot of the obstetricians have come on board and they are talking to their patients pertaining to getting the vaccine.”

He said it is prudent that pregnant women get the covid jab, as it has been proven that those who are unvaccinated are experiencing the severe form of the disease.

“So, pregnancy would depress the immune system. So, if you compare a pregnant and a non-pregnant person, the pregnant person, you’re seeing that if they get covid that more than likely they will get a more severe form of covid. If they are vaccinated, then they would not get that severe form of covid and therefore, it is important for them to get vaccinated.”

He said that unvaccinated pregnant women are prone to giving birth to premature babies.

The health minister also debunked social media rumors which claim that women are prone to spontaneous miscarriages and continuous bleeding after taking the vaccine.

“I think some celebrity in the US made this comment and it went viral. But there’s no scientific evidence to back that up. And so, while that might have spread and people latched on to the sentiments, there isn’t any scientific evidence, no medical evidence to back that up.”

The health minister confirmed that the vaccine could be taken at any point during the three trimesters.

With more people realising the importance of the covid vaccines, the first-dose vaccination among adults has climbed to 387,505, representing 75.5 per cent, while second dose accounts for 253,938 persons.

For adolescence, 27, 954 took the first shot while 19, 028 persons of that age cohort have received the second dose.