British health authorities have urged more pregnant women to get coronavirus jabs after a national study found the Delta variant appeared to increase their risk of severe symptoms.
England's top midwife urged pregnant women to get the jab as new data showed an increase in severe illness among pregnant women hospitalised with virus symptoms.
Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, chief midwifery officer for England, wrote to GPs and midwives urging them to encourage expectant mothers to get a jab.
She said she was calling on pregnant women to "protect themselves and their babies". The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College of Midwives have also recommended vaccination of pregnant women.