The regulations will apply to all staff working in a CQC-regulated care home for people requiring nursing or personal care in England, including those who are pregnant, unless they have a medical reason not to be vaccinated.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that pregnant women should be offered the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as the rest of the population, based on their age and clinical risk group.
Women who are planning pregnancy, are in the immediate postpartum, or are breastfeeding can be vaccinated with any Covid-19 vaccine, depending on their age and clinical risk group.
There have been no specific safety concerns identified with any brand of COVID-19 vaccines in relation to pregnancy. Real-world data from the United States show that around 90,000 pregnant women have been vaccinated, mainly with mRNA vaccines including Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, without any safety concerns being raised.
All the vaccines are subject to rigorous testing before they can be given to the public. There is no evidence to suggest the vaccines can cause problems with fertility. The British Fertility Society (BFS) and Association of Reproductive and Clinical Scientists (ARCS) say there is absolutely no evidence, and no theoretical reason, that any of the vaccines can affect the fertility of women or men.