According to a new study, in comparison with the COVID-19 cases earlier in the pandemic, infections with the Delta variant result in worse outcomes in unvaccinated pregnant women. 

Investigators assessed 1,515 pregnant women with COVID-19 receiving care from a large Dallas public health system between May 2020 and September 4, 2021. A total of 82 women (81 were unvaccinated) developed severe illness. Of these, 10 required ventilator support and two died. 

The proportion of severe or critical cases among pregnant women was about 5% until early 2021, and such cases were nonexistent to a great extent in February and most of March this year, stated the researchers. In late summer, as the Delta variant surge peaked, the proportion of pregnant women with COVID-19 requiring hospitalization rose to 10% to 15%, noted researchers in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology… (Reuters, October 2, 2021)