Cody
According to reports, some women in Scotland have had their NHS IVF treatment delayed because they are unvaccinated.
Professor Sir Gregor Smith, Scotland’s chief medical officer, advised that from the 7th of January fertility treatment would be deferred for the unvaccinated.
Smith wrote: “Following clinical concerns raised by the lead Clinicians in the NHS Assisted Conception Units in Scotland, consideration of the evidence of increased levels of morbidity and risk of severe illness amongst unvaccinated pregnant women… I recommend a temporary deferral of fertility treatment for patients who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
“We are now seeing an exponential rise in cases of Omicron, with increased transmissibility. As there is still uncertainty around the impact of this variant on pregnant women, and whilst the Delta variant continues to account for a significant number of cases in the UK, a more cautious approach to fertility treatment in unvaccinated women is now recommended.”
One woman, Jemma McDonald, whose treatment was cancelled, said: “I wanted to speak to doctors and nurses face-to-face about vaccinations to see what was best to do. At the start, the Government said we shouldn’t get the vaccinations.”
The deferral is reportedly temporary but an end date has not been set. It will all be dependent on the number of covid-19 cases that are reported each day and whether the government believes it poses a risk to the public.
A Scottish MP, Jackie Baillie said: “Of course, I would encourage everyone to get vaccinated as the best protection against the virus, but the rules were confusing at the start and treating these women in this way is inhumane.”
Another couple said that they were devastated to hear that their treatment had been cancelled due to their vaccination status.
Georgia Gaffney and her wife Michaela said that they declined that jab due to safety concerns during pregnancy – they were worried about adverse effects.
“After daily injections, scans, appointments, sick days, sad days, pain & endless hopeful tries. Our hearts are literally broken, along with so many other couples around the world. This is so unfair and just simply not right.
“We are not anti-vaxxers, we were told at the start of Covid that it may not be safe for pregnant women, or those becoming pregnant, to get the jabs. We were advised not to get it. Now that has changed. So obviously it’s still a worry to us.”
It seems like this move is just another excuse to remove more rights from the unvaccinated and push us further from society.
