Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent is urging expectant mums to get the coronavirus vaccine after new data showed that the overwhelming majority of pregnant women hospitalised with the virus have not had a jab.

The figures also reveal that no pregnant women with both doses of the vaccine had been admitted to hospital.

Since May, just three women had been admitted after having their first vaccine. In contrast, almost all (98 per cent) pregnant women admitted to hospital with coronavirus had not been jabbed.

Since April, pregnant women have been offered the jab in line with their age cohort, and health leaders are calling on more younger adults to come forward and close the uptake gap.

Dunkley-Bent, Chief Midwifery Officer for England, has written to fellow midwives and GP practices across the country stressing the need to encourage pregnant women to get the jab to protect them and their baby.

She said: “Vaccines save lives, and this is another stark reminder that the Covid-19 jab can keep you, your baby and your loved ones, safe and out of hospital. Thanks to the planning, skill and dedication of hard-working staff the NHS Covid vaccination programme is the biggest in health service history and the most precise in Europe. But we need everyone to come forward and take up the evergreen offer of a jab which is why I am calling on pregnant women to take action to protect themselves and their babies and on my fellow midwives to ensure they have the information they need to do so.”

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives have both recommended vaccination as one of the best defences for pregnant women against severe coronavirus infection, while the independent JCVI confirms the jab has been shown to be effective and safe for women carrying a baby.