“I am 30 weeks pregnant, but I do not have access to the coronavirus vaccine.”

Shaveta Pandya is 30 weeks pregnant and is clinically vulnerable. She has been waiting for the coronavirus vaccine since February. In April, the Joint Committee on Immunization and Immunization (JCVI) stated that pregnant women need to be provided with a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine. But Like many others, Shaveta cannot be booked because pregnant women cannot specify which vaccine they would like due to a wasteful trip to the vaccine center or the inability to book. Women like Shaveta are still waiting while charities and MPs, including Stella Creasy, are pressing to change this.

I received the invitation to receive first Coronavirus vaccine In February because I belong to a high risk group.As a person with asthma or celiac disease, Infection with the coronavirus can have disastrous consequences for the spleen and immune system.

At the time, I tried to book my first dose, but the pharmacy refused to vaccinate pregnant women despite government guidelines and said it was a woman’s choice.

Last month, JCVI updated its official advice, stating that both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are now recommended for pregnant women. No vaccine is considered unsafe for pregnant women, but safety data for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is safely administered to pregnant women in the United States, has not been widely tested during pregnancy. There are more than Geneca.

In addition to this latest advice, the government has begun inviting women under the age of 45. This is the age group for most pregnant women in the UK. So I tried the NHS website online again and tried to book it myself. However, it is not possible to determine which vaccine is needed.

The problem that I and many other pregnant women continue to face is that the official booking system does not distinguish which vaccine centers in our area offer approved jabs. Instead, it asks the woman to contact her family doctor directly for this information.

So I called the GP and explained that I don’t know which center is taking the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, I’m not responding to coronavirus related inquiries, and I need to call 119. I told you.

When I finally contacted someone at 119, they also told me that I should call my GP because they don’t have information about which vaccine is being given where. .. Confused, I just said I did it.

The woman on the phone replied: We cannot give you that advice. ”

Then I contacted my GP again, and she insisted she couldn’t help, and recommended that I talk to my midwife. The advice seemed strange to me because I couldn’t understand why the midwife had that information.

I had been on the phone for over an hour already, but I talked to the midwife. The midwife said she had no idea where women in my area would get the coronavirus vaccine.

After spending two hours on the phone, I wasn’t smart yet. I went between 119, my GP (multiple times) and the midwife, and no one could help me. I did as NHS advised-contact my GP and maternity team-and didn’t go anywhere. I feel that the GP does not have the correct information. So where does it leave people like me?

Given that about 800,000 women are pregnant each year in England and Wales, the lack of information affects a great many people.

I have been in a panic since my first vaccine was rejected in February. My biggest fear is that I or my husband get infected with the coronavirus and I give it. birth alone. This is my first baby, so I’m already full of anxiety. I’m also worried about being around people who have been hospitalized overnight and have not been vaccinated.

It’s very frustrating. The fact is that pregnant women can be vaccinated in black and white, but they have no access yet. I’m really worried.

I gave birth in July, so I’m already on a very tight time scale to try both doses, but I don’t think it will be possible now.

JCVI advises women to vaccinate the rest of the population (depending on age and clinical risk), but pregnant women feel like they are being pushed to the bottom of the vaccine priority list. ..

The government says vaccines are available to pregnant women, but in my experience this is not the case. I don’t really know what my next step is, I feel hopeless.

I’m almost resentful at trying again in the GP when I know I can’t go anywhere and only increase my stress levels.

At the moment, there is nothing I can do. I can’t get the vaccine.