Almost a fifth of the most critically ill coronavirus patients in England in recent months were unvaccinated pregnant women, health officials said as they urged expectant mothers to get their jabs.
NHS England said that, between 1 July and 30 September, 17% of Covid patients receiving treatment through a special lung-bypass machine were mothers-to-be who had not had their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
The organisation said data also showed that pregnant women accounted for 32% of all females aged between 16 and 49 in intensive care on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
This is used when a patient's lungs are so damaged by Covid that a ventilator cannot maintain oxygen levels. NHS England said this figure has risen from 6% at