Countdown’s Rachel Riley opens up about pregnancy & Covid vaccines
Countdown’s Rachel Riley is well on her way to becoming a mum-of-two at 39-weeks pregnant. Taking to Instagram on Wednesday evening, the maths expert has shared her thoughts on getting vaccinated against Covid-19 while pregnant.
“This is a little message for anyone with one of these,” Rachel explained in the short video, panning the camera down to show her growing bump. “At the moment, one in five of the patients who are on the next level up from ventilation, suffering lung damage in hospital with Covid-19 are unvaccinated pregnant women.”
Well aware that this is quite a controversial topic, which tends to stir up a lot of opinions, Rachel said, “I know at the start of the pandemic it wasn’t recommended for pregnant women to have the vaccine because there wasn’t any data. We don’t test on pregnant women. Now there’s enough data.”
“There’s 100,000 people in the UK and Scotland, over 160,000 over in America who have had the vaccine and there’s been no problems with the fetus. I know there’s been a lot of misinformation aimed at pregnant women. Through my work with A Center for Countering Digital Hate and through posting I’ve had my vaccine I’ve seen a lot of it.”
“But, the research shows that it’s safe,” Rachel continued. “Don’t take my word for it. Read everything on NHS England or ask your midwife.”
“But, it’s very, very sad that so many women… especially when you’re pregnant, your immunity is lower so that your body doesn’t reject the baby and it can be very, very serious in the third trimester. So please ladies, do your research and get vaccinated,” the video concluded.
Since sharing this important and honest message, Rachel’s post has been flooded with comments from followers thanking her for spreading the word, as well of course, as a few negative messages from people who don’t agree with her.
“So well done! You really are wonderful. Please keep posting this. My niece is a midwife and seen the damage COVID has done to unvaccinated pregnant women,” one follower commented.
“There's so much scare mongering and it's really sad,” another wrote.
“I had my first vaccine at 35 weeks and second whilst breast feeding my new born. Thank you for using your podium to promote vaccination,” a third commented.
For more information on getting vaccinated against Covid-19 while pregnant or breastfeeding, go to england.nhs.uk or hse.ie.
