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(CNN) -
Nearly one in five of England's most serious COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated pregnant women, according to the NHS England, which urges mothers to get vaccinated.
New figures released by the NHS England on Monday showed that, since July, one in five COVID-19 patients receiving treatment through a special pulmonary bypass machine were pregnant women who had not been vaccinated for the first time.
Pregnant women accounted for nearly a third (32%) of all women aged 16-49 undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a medical therapy only used when a patient's lungs are so damaged that a ventilator cannot maintain oxygen levels.
This figure is higher than the one at the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020, which was only 6%.
Since vaccinations began in December 2020, almost all people who have received ECMO for covid-19 are patients who have not been vaccinated, NHS England said.
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NHS England released the figures as part of its efforts to persuade pregnant women to get vaccinated.
England's chief midwife Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent said in a written statement Monday that the statistics were "another stark reminder that the covid-19 vaccine can keep you, your baby, and your loved ones safe and out of harm's way. hospital".
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The case of a 33-year-old woman
The NHS England statement shared the experience of a future mother from England who was hospitalized with covid-19.
Claire, 33, of Kent, was admitted to her local hospital in July with breathing difficulties and was put on a ventilator while in an induced coma.
His condition deteriorated and he remained in an intensive care unit for a month before he was allowed to return home.
"I fully understand the doubt of not getting vaccinated when a child is growing inside you, and after suffering two miscarriages before the pandemic, the fear of being pregnant again with the concern of the covid put my anxiety through the roof", Claire said.
"But after what happened, I can honestly say that the risk of not having the covid vaccine far outweighs any doubt of having it," he added.
Asking pregnant women to get vaccinated
In England, more than 81,000 pregnant women have received the first dose of the vaccine, and about 65,000 have received the second, according to data from Public Health England.
Pregnant women in England were offered the vaccine for the first time in December 2020 if they were health or care workers, or belonged to a risk group.
Since April 2021, all pregnant women have been offered the vaccine as part of the age-based deployment.
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"We understand women's concern about getting vaccinated during pregnancy, and we want to reassure women that there is no link between getting vaccinated and an increased risk of miscarriage, premature delivery or stillbirth," the doctor said in a statement Monday. Edward Morris, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid called the new figures "desperately sad" and said: "Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective for pregnant women and I urge everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible to ensure this important protection".
Covid-19 England
