UVA doctor encouraging pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Doctors at the University of Virginia are encouraging pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Dr. Donald Dudley with UVA Health says pregnant women are three to four times more likely to have a stillbirth if they have a COVID-19 infection, among other serious risk factors that can occur during pregnancy or delivery if they are unvaccinated.

While Dudley said the hospital has not seen any stillbirths among pregnant women who are being treated for COVID-19 at UVA Medical, he said the hospital has seen many pregnant women on ventilators because they are unvaccinated. Dudley said many of them need weeks to months to recover from the virus.

“I just delivered a patient a few weeks ago who had a tracheoscopy who had to learn how to talk with it. So her baby is not going to hear their mother’s voice for I don’t know how long,” Dudley said.

Dudley said a recent study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevent shows COVID-19 vaccinations are safe and protect both mother and baby from serious illness.

Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.