THE Public Health Ministry today (Aug. 19) said 2,237 pregnant women contracted coronavirus from April 1 to August 18, 2021 with only 22 of them having been vaccinated, TV Channel 7 said.
Dr. Ekachai Piansrivachara, director of the ministry’s Office of Health Promotion, said of the 2,237 pregnant women who caught Covid in this period, 1,590 Thais and 737 foreigners.
The highest number of these cases was in Bangkok totalling 462, followed by Samut Sakhon 356 and Pathum Thani 97.
Moreover 119 babies also got infected in this period.
Six more pregnant women died today adding up to 53 who have passed away while 23 babies had also died.
A campaign is needed to encourage pregnant women to get vaccinated at an antenatal care facility. So far only 10% of pregnant women have been vaccinated with 13,686 having received the first jab and 904 both jabs.
Dr Ekachai added that when the mother is infected with coronavirus she is 1.5 times more likely to deliver prematurely, 2.8 times more likely to have a stillborn baby, and 5 times more likely for the baby to be admitted to ICU.
“A 12-week or more pregnant woman can accept all types of vaccines, including Sinovac and AstraZeneca, but there may not be sufficient doses of Pfizer vaccine for up to 500,000 pregnant women nationwide,” he said.
Earlier the Public Health Ministry announced that there were 20,902 new coronavirus cases and 301 deaths today, Amarin TV said.
Of the day’s large new batch of cases, 20,754 were among the general public while 148 got infected in prisons and detention centres.
The cumulative confirmed total since April 1 has now reached 960,996.
Meanwhile another 22,208 patients were cured, taking total recoveries since April 1 to 747,901, with 205,946 still undergoing treatment.
CAPTIONS:
Top: A pregnant woman. Photo: NNT
Home Page: A new-born Thai baby. Photo: UNICEF
