Israel is now giving pregnant women priority access to coronavirus vaccines amid a rise in severe cases among expectant mothers. 

The country’s health ministry said pregnant women could be vaccinated if they wished to do so, particularly those presenting risk factors. 

According to experts, there exists no “biological mechanism that could explain the possibility of harm to the mother or the embryo,” the country’s health ministry said Tuesday. 

“Women who have been vaccinated without realising that they are pregnant did not display any more remarkable phenomena than their non-vaccinated peers,” it said.

The government department also noted a rise “in the number of pregnant women suffering from severe manifestations of coronavirus disease.”

The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said earlier this month vaccination should be considered for women at a high risk of exposure, with underlying symptoms or a very high risk of serious complications. 

However, while “available data does not indicate any safety concern or harm to pregnancy”, it did not recommend routine use of covid-19 vaccines during pregnancy.