Pregnant women, during the recent Omicron wave, were 8 times more likely to get infected with COVID-19, however, the likelihood of severe disease was lower, in comparison with pregnant women diagnosed earlier during the pandemic, suggests new research published in JAMA.

Researchers in Texas evaluated 2,641 women with COVID-19 infections during pregnancy between May 2020 and January 2022. The weekly numbers of deliveries appeared to be similar throughout the study period. However, the average weekly number of infected women who delivered was 17 early in the pandemic, 14 during the Delta surge, and 138 during the Omicron surge.

Researchers noted that less than 1% of women infected during the Omicron surge had to be hospitalized, in comparison with around 12% during the Delta wave… (ET Healthworld – Reuters, March 26, 2022)