Pregnant patients with COVID-19 filling ICU beds in several states

Reports out of several states indicate a steep rise in the number of pregnant people hospitalized with COVID-19. Swedish Health Services (SHS) in Seattle is seeing “ICU admissions, maternal deaths and babies born prematurely either to help the mother breathe or rescue the baby,” according to the SHS executive medical director of women’s health. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) reported a five-fold increase in the number of pregnant patients in its ICU. Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released additional safety data and recommended that pregnant people get vaccinated against COVID-19. As of August 14, only 23.8% of the U.S. pregnant population had received at least one dose of the vaccine. (AP News article, 8/31/21)