The country’s largest clinical trial investigating the best gap between first and second coronavirus vaccine doses for pregnant women is being launched.

Following 130,000 pregnant women being vaccinated in the US and no safety concerns being raised, the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were recommended by the independent experts at the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) for pregnant women in the UK. Almost 52,000 pregnant women in England have now been vaccinated - similarly, with no safety concerns reported.

NHS England and the University of Oxford also say that no pregnant women who have had both doses of a vaccine have been admitted to hospital with coronavirus. Only three have been admitted after having their first dose, meaning 98 per cent of those admitted to hospital have not received a jab.

The Preg-CoV study, backed by £7.5 million of government funding and led by St George’s, University of London, will provide vital clinical trial data on the immune response to vaccination at different dose intervals - either four to six weeks or eight to 12 weeks. This data will help determine the best dosage interval and tell us more about how the vaccine works to protect pregnant mothers and their babies against the virus.

Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “Pregnant women are more likely to get seriously ill from Covid-19 and we know that vaccines are safe for them and make a huge difference – in fact no pregnant woman with two jabs has required hospitalisation with Covid-19.

“This government-backed trial will provide more data about how we can best protect pregnant women and their babies, and we can use this evidence to inform future vaccination programmes. I encourage anyone who is pregnant and eligible to sign-up and contribute to research that will save lives for years to come.”