Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

UK launches £7.5m trial to tackle low Covid vaccine take-up in pregnant women

UK launches £7.5m trial to tackle low Covid vaccine take-up in pregnant women

PREGNANT women are more likely to become seriously ill from Covid-19 and should get themselves vaccinated, department of health and social care said today (3) while announcing the launch of England’s largest clinical trial  to figure out the best interval time between the two doses of Covid-19 for pregnant women.

The Preg-CoV study, backed by £7.5 million of government funding and led by St George’s, University of London, will provide vital clinical trial data on the immune response at different dose intervals - either four to six weeks or eight to 12 weeks, the department said, adding that the study will help determine the best dosage interval.


The trial will be run across 13 National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) sites in England - including in London, Liverpool and Leeds. All the trial sites are working on ways of including participants from a wide variety of backgrounds and individuals from ethnic minorities are encouraged to apply.

Involving data of 600 pregnant women being vaccinated with either the Pfizer/BioNTech or the Moderna vaccine, the trial will closely monitor the health of pregnant women throughout their pregnancy and following the birth.

The announcement comes after it emerged that most of the pregnant women in the country are still unvaccinated. Following 130,000 pregnant women being vaccinated in the US and no safety concerns being raised, vaccines were recommended by the independent experts at the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) for pregnant women in the UK back in April.

However, vaccine take-up in pregnant women is still less and has recently been a matter of concern among the experts.

Data published last week by NHS England and the University of Oxford also shows no pregnant women who have had both doses of a vaccine have been admitted to hospital with Covid-19 while 98 per cent pregnant mums admitted to hospital have not received a jab.

Calling eligible expecting mothers to sign-up for the trial, vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “Pregnant women are more likely to get seriously ill from COVID-19 and we know that vaccines are safe for them and make a huge difference – in fact no pregnant woman with two jabs has required hospitalisation with COVID-19.

“This government-backed trial will provide more data about how we can best protect pregnant women and their babies, and we can use this evidence to inform future vaccination programmes,” Zahawi said.

Further analysis from PHE and the University of Cambridge also suggests vaccines have so far prevented over 52,600 hospitalisations, an estimated 22 million infections and more than 60,000 deaths in England alone.

Volunteers can sign up to the trial here: https://vaccine.ac.uk/research/preg-cov-trial/

More For You

In 2022, as chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Jo Sidhu led strikes over legal aid rates, which resulted in the suspension of court proceedings in England and Wales. (Photo: Getty Images)
In 2022, as chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Jo Sidhu led strikes over legal aid rates, which resulted in the suspension of court proceedings in England and Wales. (Photo: Getty Images)
In 2022, as chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Jo Sidhu led strikes over legal aid rates, which resulted in the suspension of court proceedings in England and Wales. (Photo: Getty Images)

KC Sidhu found guilty of misconduct over hotel room incident

Navjot “Jo” Sidhu KC, 58, has been found guilty of professional misconduct by a disciplinary tribunal for inviting an aspiring barrister to spend the night in his hotel room during a criminal trial.

The tribunal unanimously ruled that Sidhu’s invitation to the paralegal, who was on work experience with him, was “entirely of a sexual nature and entirely inappropriate in all the circumstances,” The Times reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Leicestershire Police

According to Leicestershire Police, the two male passengers remain in hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. (Photo: X/@leicspolice)

According to Leicestershire Police, the two male passengers remain in hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. (Photo: X/@leicspolice)

Indian student dies, four injured in Leicestershire road accident

A 32-YEAR-OLD Indian student has died in a road accident in Leicestershire, with four others hospitalised with serious injuries, according to police.

Chiranjeevi Panguluri, a passenger in the car, died at the scene when the vehicle left the road and came to rest in a ditch. The accident, involving a grey Mazda 3 Tamura, occurred on Tuesday morning as the car travelled from Leicester towards Market Harborough.

Keep ReadingShow less
care workers

New report exposed a system that has pushed vulnerable carers into financial and emotional turmoil. (Photo for representation: iStock)

Carer's allowance penalties trap many in debt: report

HUNDREDS of thousands of unpaid carers have been hammered by harsh penalties for minor rule breaches, a damning national audit has revealed.

The National Audit Office (NAO) report exposed a system that has pushed vulnerable carers into financial and emotional turmoil.

Keep ReadingShow less
Urfan Sharif

Urfan Sharif had signed agreements prohibiting 'any physical chastisement' of children after facing multiple accusations of abuse.(Photo: Reuters)

Urfan Sharif had signed agreements prohibiting 'any physical chastisement' of children after facing multiple accusations of abuse.(Photo: Reuters)

Urfan Sharif was accused of abuse before Sara's birth: Report

SARA SHARIF’s father, Urfan Sharif, was repeatedly accused of abuse in the 13 years leading up to her murder, according to family court documents.

These records, according to The Times, reveal a history of physical abuse, neglect, and domestic violence within the family, with multiple interventions by social services.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman alleges sex GP Thomas Plimmer tried to choke her

The woman described feeling scared and worried that he might cut off her airway (Photo for representation: iStock)

Woman alleges sex GP Thomas Plimmer tried to choke her

A woman has come forward alleging that a former GP, struck off for misconduct, attempted to choke her during an intimate encounter without her consent.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said she met Thomas Plimmer on a dating app in 2017. On their second date at her home, she claimed he “started squeezing my throat” during sex, despite no prior discussion or agreement.

Keep ReadingShow less