The NHS’s vaccine booking site hasn’t just failed to keep people’s vaccine status private but has also failed to allow pregnant women to book the vaccines they have been advised – both by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and by NHS England – to receive.
The JCVI says that it is “preferable” for pregnant women to be “offered” the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines “where available” due to there being more “real-world data” from the U.S. on these vaccines and because “more research is needed” on the AstraZeneca vaccine when given to pregnant women. “Where available” is not strong enough for NHS England. GPs at sites that are only administering the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine were told last month to cancel all appointments for pregnant women and to direct them to sites where alternative vaccines are available.
Regardless of the advice given, it has not been possible, for this whole time, for pregnant women to book specific vaccines through the NHS vaccine booking system – an issue which is, at long last, being amended (though how long this might take is anyone’s guess). The Guardian has more.
After the Government announced that people under 40 would be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine where possible, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) warned the system for pregnant women – who are advised to have the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines – was not working.
Charities said pregnant women had faced confusion, delays and wasted trips, with the online booking system giving no option to pregnant women to specify what vaccine they wanted…
Professor Wei Shen Lim, the JCVI chair, said he hoped NHS England would be able to overcome difficulties in pregnant women accessing the Pfizer or Moderna jabs. “I understand there have been some reports of difficulties in accessing the vaccines,” he told a televised briefing. “I certainly hope that operationally NHS England will be able to overcome those difficulties in access.”
A letter to health providers from senior bosses, including the National Medical Director for England, Professor Stephen Powis, published on Friday, said: “NHS Digital will be amending the national booking service in the coming days to allow pregnant women to book into specific vaccine appointments in line with JCVI guidance.”
Before news of the letter, Dr Pat O’Brien, the RCOG Vice-President, had said: “The latest Government guidance for pregnant women is to contact their GP for advice on how to receive the appropriate vaccine. However, GP practices are reporting that they don’t have the ability to do this, leaving pregnant women feeling frustrated and helpless as they are passed from pillar to post.”
Joeli Brearley, of the campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, said pregnant women had faced “insurmountable challenges” when trying to access the vaccine, including medical professionals giving sometimes inaccurate information.
“Pregnant women are telling us that this is affecting their mental health,” she said. “The Government has had a baby blind spot throughout this pandemic.”
Worth reading in full.
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They should see it as a blessing in disguise. You’d have to be totally insane to take an experimental medical treatment for a disease with a 99.95%+ survival rate at any time let alone while pregnant.
Well we would, but if you trust what our government and NHS are telling you then you believe the vaccines are perfectly safe, fully tested and have not the slightest notion they only have emergency use approval AND pregnant women were excluded from the initial trials. What could go wrong?
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04470427
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04516746
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04368728
What could go wrong? Thalidomide springs to mind.
I cannot for the life of understand why any pregnant woman would consider this.
Should not everyone be free to choose his own poison?
This appears a blatant case of discrimination. There’s ageism, since the young, but not the old can choose, plus, the pregnancy thing not only discriminates against non-pregnant women, but is “backdoor discrimination” against men.
Not really fighting my own corner – as a not young, not pregnant, man – though. Whatever choice I’m offered, my answer is fixed at “none of the above”.
Well yes indeed if you do want a vax then you should have a choice. But our government is so concerned to vax everyone asap folks have no choice. I am guessing the AZ is favoured because if doesn’t need the freezing storage conditions. I am with you that my answer is none of the above, but the chaotic nature and the rush I find very disturbing.
If at some stage I NEED to travel abroad and have to have one then I’m hoping that Valvena or Novavax will be approved and if they are why shouldn’t I be allowed to choose one of them ?
I can’t imagine any woman in her right mind risking the health of her child just to protect HERSELF against a mild virus. The selfishness of this snowflake generation is quite unbelievable.
Unfortunately you/we imagine the ‘right mind ‘. But unfortunately the inexhaustible government propaganda campaign has captured the idiots, and the innocents will pay.
It isn’t even to protect herself. Barring miracles or drastic hormone treatment, there’s no way a pregnant eoman could be old enough to be at risk from covvie. They are risking their health and their baby’s health in order to protect somebody else’s putative granny. Who’s had her snake oil already and won’t be protected anyway, since the snake oil doesn’t prevent infection.
But it’s not to protect herself; it’s to protect the vulnerable. It’s a civic duty, isn’t it? Haven’t you been listening to the government???
So far, there has been a count of 107 ‘abortion spontaneous’ in the jab programme with 5.9 million under 45s having taken the 1st jab and 1.9m having taken the 2nd jab. Deaths per jab so far is 1 in 43,682.
In 2020, healthy under 40s have a 1 in 298,878 chance of dying with covid and those with pre-existing conditions a 1 in 63,960 chance. So less chance of dying than the jab.
In 2020, healthy children under 15 have less than 1 in 5 million chance of dying with covid and those with pre-existing conditions less than 1 in 1 million.
I’d like to care. But actually given how easy it is to discover that under 70 you don’t need a (made up not actually a) vaccine if you’re pregnant (or not) under 70 then it’s on you. You’re stupidity and deafness to those that care will be your downfall. Shame on you.
I do wonder how ‘sceptic’ Toby and his contributers are. I mean, surely the headlines should be why would any pregnant women even take these vaccines?????
The site is handy in terms of news aggregation but in in all honesty it’s a paper tiger. I’ve subbed Toby a few times now but i’m tired of the ‘worth reading in full’ nonsense.
Sad state of affairs.
I completely agree.
Perhaps its purpose from the outset was to act has a honey pot for corralling skeptics, with a view to eventually bombard them with timely pro-vaccine propaganda. Maybe ‘friendly words’ were had, or ‘donations’ changed hands after it had established a loyal following.
I would not be in the least bit surprised to find out this site is administered at least indirectly by the authorities.
Maintaining a pregnancy relies on suppression of the maternal immune system so as not to reject the foreign foetal tissue, development and maintenance of hormones and development of blood flow to the placenta. Unbalance anything and the baby dies. So why would you inject a vaccine, any vaccine, that tinkers with immunity and likely affects blood clotting and induces inflammation. Sheer insanity.
Of course they don’t want pregnant women to be able to choose because that would open up a whole can of worms about allowing everyone to be able to choose..,
Kind reminds me of what Camilla PB said when the press asked her which vaccine she’d had… “AstraZeneca. Well you just have to take whatever you’re given”. Not exactly an endorsement!
why on earth would pregnant women do this, the past record of vaccines on unborn babies should deter them at least. They can’t be that desperate for a therapy to stop the lowest mortality rate virus in their age group.
Toby Young, Michael Curzon, you are playing their game by their rules.
With the exception of those who have volunteered to take part in clinical trials, no one should be receiving these experimental products.
Given the number of serious problems, including deaths, the trials should have already been halted.
What is the current recommended treatment for those who go down with Covid 19? Paracetamol and oxygen?
Prosecutions of officials and ministers involved in this should have already been completed. Reckless endangerment, misuse of public office?
Had the emphasis been on effective treatment, thousands would not have died. Thousands would not be having serious long-term health problems. Billions would not have been wasted.
Are the women told that over 100 babies have been lost so far? Once again it is about uninformed choice. How any medical practitioner could do this and still think they are applying the hypocritic oath is beyond me, and I’m getting extremely tired of saying that.
Surprising to me this past 15 months just how stupid are around 90% of the population, they swallow the bs and return for more.
Makes one wonder if education is actually needed after 11.
These pregnant women have probably given up alcohol and tobacco for the sake of their unborn babies. Even the MSM is making it clear that the effects are as yet unknown, that some jabs have already proved themselves unsafe. Yet they are signing up to be stabbed with these experimental concoctions.
You’ve got to hand it to Sage’s Spi-B team, they’ve certainly done a great job with their programme of incessant brainwashing propagand.
Unbelievably article.
Pregnant women should not have ANY emergency use vaccine for ANYTHING!
This has nothing to do with covid/SARS2, its just basic medical ethics.
Anyone promoting this or giving the injections is contravening every medical code out there. They should get sued immediately.