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Pregnant women are being turned away from UK Covid vaccine clinics

Pregnant women

Pregnant women are being turned away from UK Covid vaccine clinics, experts warn

Pregnant women are being turned away from Covid vaccine clinics despite clinical advice, experts have warned as they urged ministers to ramp up efforts to reach unvaccinated groups.

Members of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) told the Guardian that efforts to increase booster jab uptake will not be sufficient to prevent more deaths and hospitalisations, and that ministers must prioritise reaching those who have had no jabs. In particular they urged a focus on pregnant women as only about 15% in the UK have been fully vaccinated. Among all over-12s, the figure is 79%.

On Tuesday the NHS said pregnant women should never be turned away from clinics and said vaccines could save the lives of women and their babies.

New data from Oxford University’s MBRRACE-UK study on maternal health, seen by the Guardian, shows that at least 13 pregnant women died with Covid between July and September this year, with 85% of them believed to have been unvaccinated. The figure is higher than in the first and second waves of the pandemic, when nine and 11 pregnant women died but when jabs were not available.

Prof Marian Knight, the lead for the MBRRACE-UK programme, said there was still no joined-up messaging across the health service. “Women are being turned away from clinics and now there are some trusts offering it as part of the maternity service, but it is not universal so there are still barriers,” she said.

“It is important we start to see data on outcomes in vaccinated women so we can show evidence that vaccines are safe, rather than say there’s no evidence they cause harm. These are very small numbers, but the point is that women could have been saved; children have been orphaned.”

Joeli Brearley, the founder of the charity Pregnant Then Screwed, said old leaflets advising against the jab were still in circulation at some healthcare centres. Some professionals were giving conflicting advice on safety, with hesitancy also driven by the fact that pregnant women were not yet included in the booster jab drive, she added. “It sends out the message: we are not sure about pregnant women and the vaccination.”

Covid in pregnancy is linked to a raised risk of premature delivery, while pregnant women are more likely to become seriously ill than non-pregnant women of the same age. A previous study found that one in six of 118 Covid patients requiring the most intensive ventilation treatment were unvaccinated pregnant women.

Other research suggests the Delta variant poses a greater threat to pregnant women than previous variants. In July the UK Obstetric Surveillance System found that one in four pregnant women admitted to hospital with Covid in the first wave had moderate to severe disease compared with 45% of recent admissions. Between March and July, one in three pregnant women in hospital with Covid required respiratory support, and one in seven required intensive care.

Pregnant women are among those that some members of the JCVI, which advises the government on vaccine policy, are most concerned about. However, some scientists have privately accused the JCVI itself of being slow to advise that the vaccine was safe for pregnant women.

An NHS spokesperson said: “Pregnant women should not be turned away from NHS vaccination centres and women should continue to come forward for the lifesaving Covid vaccine – they can make a booking through the national booking service online or by calling 119 anytime between 7am and 11pm seven days a week.

“The NHS has advised midwifery staff to give pregnant women the information they need to make the right decision for them and their baby so if you are pregnant and have any concerns, please come forward and discuss them with a healthcare professional.”

Adam Finn, a professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol and a member of the JCVI, said: “It does now seem clear that not only does Covid in pregnancy bring an increased risk of premature delivery but also pregnant women are more likely to get seriously ill than non-pregnant women of the same age. So there’s a need to communicate that effectively and that can probably most effectively be done by midwives.

“The people who benefit most from vaccines, whether or not they are pregnant, are those who have had no doses so far. Explaining to people why this makes sense and is important for them is, perhaps, the most worthwhile thing we could be doing at present.”

Another member of the JCVI, Maggie Wearmouth, said: “The message is just not reaching many pregnant women … Saving lives and reducing admissions needs more active outreach to the 4 million people not yet vaccinated at all, particularly pregnant women and young black men.”

Amid criticism of the pace of the booster rollout, the government has pledged to intensify efforts to improve take-up of the third jab offered to those over 50 and the clinically vulnerable. Last week, government sources said they would examine whether to cut the period that must elapse before a booster jab from six months to five.

Members of the JCVI are understood to be sceptical about the effects of such a move. Finn said: “Getting the booster programme done as quickly as possible is only one aspect of a complex situation.

“It’s important to immunise the right people – those who actually need a booster – at the right time, when their response to it will be substantial and as long-lasting as possible. It’s also important not to overestimate what the booster programme is capable of – after all it is simply increasing the level of protection against serious illness in people whose protection from the first two doses is still pretty good.

“Finally, the booster programme will not do much to reduce the circulation of the virus more generally or any time soon – other precautions would be needed to achieve that.”

Wearmouth said it was highly unlikely there would be any clinical benefit to speeding up the booster jabs. “The sooner a booster is given, the sooner it may have to be given yet again,” she said. “We are clearly losing the battle by depending on vaccinations alone. It is time for a serious review of wider aspects. We need politicians and known faces to be seen to have their boosters as well as observing social distancing, masks, etc.”

Prof Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the JCVI, told Sky News: “Vaccines do a lot of the heavy lifting, but they can’t do everything, so social distancing, mask wearing in crowded spaces and being sensible is all part of what we ought to be doing as a society.”

Health

Kwara approves 100% consolidated health salary structure for nurses

The Kwara State government has approved and implemented a 100% Consolidated Health Salary Structure, (CONHESS) for nurses in the state.

Also, the state government has recruited about 63 nurses to fill the vacuum created by the brain drain in the country to improve the quality and standard of nursing care in line with the global best practices.

The Chairman and Secretary of the Kwara State Council of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Aminu Shehu and Markus Luka respectively, disclosed this in a statement in Ilorin made available to journalists.

The association appreciated the Executive Secretary of the state Hospital Management Bureau for playing a vital role in the struggle towards ensuring that its demands were met by the government.

The body also commended Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for the approval and implementation of the 100% CONHESS and the recruitment of more nurses to boost healthcare delivery in the state.

 

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Health

More than 400 consultant anesthetists left Nigeria in 2yrs – Society

More than 400 consultant anesthetists left the shores of Nigeria for greener pastures in the last two years, President of the Nigerian Society of Anesthetists, Dr Olubusola Alagbe-Briggs said in Gombe on Wednesday.

Alagbe-Briggs told newsmen on the side-line of the society’s 31st annual scientific conference that the immigrant anesthetists left Nigeria in search of better practice environment.

She said anesthetists were the most sought-after specialists in foreign lands because of the peculiarity of their services.

“There is a global shortage of anesthetists because of the nature of the job which is intensive, acute and focused.

“We had about 1,200 members in the past, but today we have only 800 members.

“Those countries that are short of anesthetists are pulling those here in Nigeria to their countries.

“Nigerian professionals are the best. They are highly sought-after by other countries.

“Medical practitioners and other professionals will continue to emigrate until their welfare and available equipment are improved upon,’’ she said.

Alagbe-Briggs stressed that availability appropriate equipment and improved welfare were essential to improve medical practice and services.

She said the conference itself sought to ensure continuous enhancement of the knowledge of the society’s members to help to improve their services.

“We are looking at how we can help to improve on cancer care; we are involved in the operational stage, pain relief, emergency care and intensive care.

“We are in Gombe to brainstorm on how to improve our specialty in line with the theme of the conference, learn from one another and share research outcomes,’’ Alagbe-Briggs said.

The conference has: “Anesthesia and the pre-operative care of patients with cancers’’ as its theme.

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Health

WHO Demands Fresh Data from China amid Outbreak of Pneumonia in Children

The World Health Organization (WHO) is requesting more data from China amid an outbreak of pneumonia in children.

Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO epidemiologist, said the agency was ‘following up with China’ as hospitals across the country continue to be overwhelmed.

Face masks and social distancing are again being recommended in the country.

The country is said to be grappling with a spike in pneumonia, dubbed ‘white lung syndrome’ because of the way lung damage shows up on scans, among children that has been attributed to a rebound in respiratory illnesses rather than an entirely new virus.

 

 

China had one of the most brutal and longest lockdowns of any country in the world which the WHO says robbed children of vital immunity against seasonal illnesses. 

Dr Van Kerkhove told the conference today: ‘Yes, we are seeing an increase in respiratory infections around the world.

‘We’re in autumn and entering winter months, so we are expecting to see rises in respiratory infections regardless.

We are following up with China. They are seeing an increase due a number of different infections

We are following up with our clinical network and following up with clinicians in China.

‘In terms of acute respiratory infections, we are looking at the burden on healthcare systems and looking at the healthcare capacities of systems.’

It comes after Chinese Health Ministry spokesman Mi Feng urged people in the country to again consider wearing face masks and distancing.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, he said: ‘Efforts should be made to increase the opening of relevant clinics and treatment areas, extend service hours and increase the supply of medicines.

‘It is necessary to do a good job in epidemic prevention and control in key crowded places.

‘[This includes] in schools, childcare institutions and nursing homes, and to reduce the flow of people and visits.’

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