Covid: Consultant's concern over unvaccinated pregnant women

A Northern Trust respiratory consultant has said she is "particularly worried" about unvaccinated pregnant women and over 50s.

Dr Wendy Anderson told Good Morning Ulster she was still seeing pregnant women in their third trimester "surprised that they're sick".

Some mass vaccination centres are to be scaled back in an attempt to get health staff deployed back into other areas.

Resources will be shifted to localised and mobile clinics.

"The important thing is to get as many people as possible in before that," said Dr Anderson.

"The mortality in the pandemic is partly going to be determined by the number of people who have been vaccinated before they get an infection.

"I am particularly worried about pregnant women and those over 50s who haven't had any vaccination.

"It's a worry for me as I know that predicts their course. I have a limited influence if they come in and haven't had a vaccine."

In England, pregnant women have been urged not to delay getting their Covid jab or booster in a government campaign.

Dr Anderson said there had been a good take-up before Christmas in Northern Ireland, which had helped the current hospital admissions but this has started to taper off.

"There is a loss of momentum as things have improved but things improved because of the momentum that we had," she told the BBC Radio Ulster programme.

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"The booster will help make disease milder for the people who have had their earlier vaccinations, it will make it less likely that they go to hospital, though they are less likely to go to ICU and die already and it also makes it easier for society to get back to normal."

She said that would mean it was more likely health services could deliver as normal, GPs could go back to practicing as they did and for schools to get back to normal.

Christmas rush

On Monday, Northern Ireland's Chief Medical Officer, Prof Sir Michael McBride, said that uptake of the booster jab has slowed.

"There was a big rush of people getting their vaccine pre-Christmas," he said.

"What we really need to do is to ensure that we keep tipping the balance in our favour. In the end our immune systems win.

"We beat this pandemic but we will only beat it when we have the vast majority of people vaccinated and boosted."

Vaccination programme head Patricia Donnelly said the trust vaccination centres have played an absolutely vital role but "work best as high volume hubs, when demand is at its peak".

"The centres still have a role, but it will be scaled back in a number of locations, as we spread capacity out more widely across Northern Ireland.

"That will include reduced opening hours and days of operation in some of the big centres."

The list of Health Trust vaccination clinics is available on Trust websites at these links.

• Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

• Northern Health and Social Care Trust

• South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust

• Southern Health and Social Care Trust

• Western Health and Social Care Trust

More details of vaccinating pharmacies are available here:

• Community pharmacy booster COVID-19 vaccination service