CCSA wants more jabs for mums-to-be

CCSA wants more jabs for mums-to-be

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has instructed hospitals nationwide to speed up the vaccination of half a million pregnant women, citing the high risks presented to them by the virus.

Assistant CCSA spokeswoman, Dr Apisamai Srirangson, said the centre plans to vaccinate 500,000 women who are at least 12 weeks pregnant, but so far only about 45,400 have had their first dose, while about 5,000 have been fully vaccinated.

Concerns about Covid-19 risks among pregnant women are being raised following a sharp increase in the number of infections among the group over the past month.

The number of the new cases recorded in expectant women surged from 819 in July to 1,506 by Aug 28, the latest figures available.

From April 1-Aug 28, some 2,878 pregnant women, mothers with six-week-old babies and infants were infected. So far, 69 women and 29 infants have died.

One of the 271 fatalities reported by the CCSA yesterday was a pregnant woman, according to Dr Apisamai.

She said the CCSA's operations centre has asked hospitals nationwide to contact women who are at least 12 weeks pregnant or have just given birth to get vaccinated.

Dr Apisamai added that the CCSA plans to vaccinate at least 70% of those in at-risk groups in 29 provinces in dark-red zones by the end of this month.

According to the Department of Health, during April 1-Aug 28, Bangkok saw the highest number of Covid-19 infections in pregnant women (525) followed by Samut Sakhon (476) and Samut Prakan (123).

Pregnant women catching Covid-19 are 1.5 times more likely to have a premature birth and their babies are 4.9 times more likely to be treated in an intensive care unit. About 3%-5% of babies can contract the virus if their mothers are infected.

Earlier, the Department of Health proposed a new regulation requiring all pregnant women to work from home to help protect the group.

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