Pregnant mums urged to get vaccinated, avoid high-risk setting as Covid cases rise in Queensland

Two pregnant Queensland mums have been admitted to ICU due to Covid, leading to a critical warning from the state’s chief health officer.

Pregnant Queenslanders need to get the Covid-19 jab urgently and avoid high-risk public settings experts have urged, as the state’s top doctor revealed two expectant mothers were in intensive care due to the virus.

It comes as government health data revealed case numbers in another vulnerable group of Queenslanders — First Nations peoples — had increased ten-fold since mid-December.

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard confirmed five people statewide were being treated in intensive care for Covid-19, with two of those pregnant women — including one that was unvaccinated.

Dr Gerrard said the immune system was “slightly suppressed” during pregnancy, thus increasing the risk of infection.

“That is why it is so critical pregnant women get vaccinated,” he said.

Chief health officer Dr John Gerrard. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Greenslopes Private Hospital OBGYN Dr Brad Robinson said the “unequivocal advice” was for pregnant women to get the vaccine, as unjabbed expectant mothers had a 22 times higher risk of dying than non-pregnant women who catch Covid-19.

The risk of stillbirth are preterm birth also increase when unvaccinated pregnant women catch Covid-19.

The data comes from a peer-reviewed study, published in JAMA Paediatrics, conducted between March and November 2020 — before vaccinations were available.

“Having the vaccine and the booster shot provide a shield of armour of sort for pregnant women, but we know it’s not impenetrable,” Dr Robinson said.

He said additional precautions like mask wearing and being “sensible” with day-to-day interactions, particularly with the unvaccinated, were necessary.

Infectious disease expert Professor Paul Griffin said women didn’t need to go into self-imposed lockdown but should limit time out in the community.

Official advice from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is for all people trying to conceive, are pregnant or are breastfeeding to get the Covid-19 jab.

There is no evidence that the Covid-19 jab impacts negatively on fertility, increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth or other adverse pregnancy outcomes.

But Prof Griffin said the uptake of vaccination among expectant mothers still appeared to be fairly poor” due to misinformation around the safety of the Covid-19 jabs.

Meanwhile, case numbers among First Nations Queenslanders has also surged ten-fold compared to mid-December, as a cluster in Cherbourg increased to 38 infections.

A further seven infections were detected on the Aboriginal community of Palm Island, off the coast of Townsville.

Queensland Health data revealed 443 First Nations peoples have now caught Covid-19 in the state since the start of the pandemic, compared to just 32 as the borders opened in December.

The latest vaccination data shows one in four Indigenous Queenslanders are yet to get even one dose of the jab, with only 65.4 per cent fully vaccinated.