Women can now receive Covid-19 vaccine at any stage of pregnancy under new Niac advice

Pregnant women had been one of the largest remaining holdout cohorts for the vaccination programme, with that low uptake one of the chief reasons cited for the ongoing restrictions on partners attending maternity appointments at the country’s hospitals. Picture: Pexels

Pregnant women can now be given the Covid-19 vaccine at any stage of pregnancy, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has said, after receiving updated advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac).

Separately, people with compromised immune systems aged 12 years and upwards are also set to receive an additional vaccine dose.