Carrie: I’ve had two jabs – and so should other mums-to-be
After second jab, PM’s wife issues Instagram rallying cry as concerns grow over number of mothers- to-be deciding not to have vaccine
CARRIE JOHNSON yesterday urged pregnant women to have the Covid jab as fears grow over the soaring numbers being admitted to hospital with the virus.
The Prime Minister’s wife, who announced two weeks ago that she is expecting her second child, yesterday posted a snap of herself on Instagram with the caption: ‘Just had my second jab and feeling great!’
Carrie, who is three months pregnant, is now appealing to others to follow her lead and get their vaccine. Concerns are increasing after figures revealed that fewer than one in 12 pregnant women have come forward to be inoculated.
Posting on her Instagram page, Carrie, 33, said evidence shows that the jab causes no higher risk of miscarriage. Her intervention comes after the Royal College of Midwives warned that pregnant women are more likely to become seriously ill if they get Covid.
Alongside a selfie photograph displaying a sticker to show she had been jabbed, Carrie wrote: ‘I know there are lots of pregnant women who are anxious about getting their Covid vaccine but the evidence is incredibly reassuring.
‘Most importantly, the data shows there is no increased risk of miscarriage, something I was definitely concerned about.
‘Nearly 200,000 pregnant women across the UK and US have received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines recommended during pregnancy, without safety concerns.
‘The Royal College of Midwives has said that expectant mothers are at greater risk of serious
‘The data shows there is no increased risk of miscarriage’
illness if they get Covid so being vaccinated really is the best way to keep you and your baby safe.’
It is believed expectant mothers have been fearful of having the jab because pregnant women were excluded from initial vaccine trials as a precautionary measure. It meant there was no safety data available for the group at the time the vaccine rollout began.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation instead decided to wait for data from the United States to come in before making a recommendation.
Two weeks ago, Carrie told how she had suffered a miscarriage at the beginning of the year but is now pregnant with what she described as her ‘rainbow baby’ – a term used to describe a child born after a miscarriage, stillborn, or neonatal death.
While pregnant with her son Wilfred in April last year, she caught coronavirus, although her symptoms weren’t severe.
At the same time, however, Mr Johnson was suffering from the virus so badly that he spent time in intensive care at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.
Carrie’s appeal comes after figures showed the number of pregnant women admitted to hospital with Covid has jumped ten- fold since May and 98 per cent of those are unvaccinated.
Analysis of NHS data shows that while there were 28 expectant mothers admitted per week four months ago, the number is now closer to 300.
Meanwhile, the number of pregnant women in intensive care has risen sharply. Figures from the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre show that 66 pregnant women in England, Wales and Northern Ireland went into intensive care last month – the highest number since the pandemic began and three times as many as April last year.
While less than one per cent of pregnant women who are hospitalised die, the risks are severe and the virus increases the chances of babies being born prematurely or stillborn by three times.
Pregnant women who contract Covid are also 76 per cent more likely to develop pre-eclampsia, a serious condition which can cause strokes, organ failure, and even deformities in a newborn.
Intensive care doctors say emergency C-sections are commonplace with these patients because the mothers are so ill.
The Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this month that scores of pregnant women had been advised by their midwives to avoid the vaccine because it could be ‘another thalidomide’ – the now- banned morning sickness drug that caused disability in children in the 1960s. Others have been told it could increase the chance of miscarriage.
Experts have blamed misinformation and confused messaging for the lack of take-up of the vaccine by pregnant women.
As recently as April, Public Health England leaflets said expectant women ‘should not be vaccinated’. But the NHS recently launched a social media campaign to encourage them to get their jabs.
England’s chief midwife, Jacqueline Dunkley- Bent, has also written to maternity staff stressing the need to encourage mums-to-be to come forwards.
Meanwhile, Carrie yesterday gave a hint of her maternity wardrobe as she showed the strap of a pair of blue dungarees from an ethical London-based range.
The outfit, designed to be breastfeeding-friendly, is from Clary & Peg, which has a studio in Hackney.
She also wore a silver chain with the initials ‘W’ for her 16-monthold son Wilfred and a ‘B’ for husband Boris. The l etters were separated with a heart.