Shropshire trial looks at Covid vaccine in pregnant women

The SaTH study, backed by £7.5 million of government funding, will look at the best Covid-19 vaccine dose interval for pregnant women to help understand how the vaccine works to protect them and their babies.

The trials will provide data on the immunity response to different vaccines at different dose intervals, either four to six weeks or eight to 12 weeks.

The project has already acquired two volunteers but researchers are looking for other expectant mothers to sign on for the study at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

Specific requirements for participants are that they are between 18 and 45 years old with no underlying health conditions and will need to be between 13 and 34 weeks pregnant at the time of the vaccination.

Volunteers will be closely monitored throughout their pregnancy and following the birth.

The study is led by Dr Adam Gornall, consultant obstetrician and specialist in maternal and foetal medicine, and Dr Will Parry Smith, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist.

“Thousands of pregnant women have been safely vaccinated in the UK and worldwide and all the medical expert groups recommend vaccination as one of the safest defences against severe infection,” said Dr Parry Smith.

“Covid-19 infection in pregnancy carries a higher risk of severe illness than for the non-pregnant population, especially in the later stages of the pregnancy.

“It is great to get the study underway and have our first volunteers vaccinated. The Preg-Cov study is a nationally important trial with real benefits for our patients locally.”

Any pregnant women interested are encouraged and want to check eligibility can to visit vaccine.ac.uk/research/preg-cov-trial

NHS workers outside The Princess Royal Hospital