The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday issued its strongest guidance to date urging pregnant women to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The guidance comes as more than a quarter million cases of COVID in pregnant women have been reported, 22,000 of whom were hospitalized, according to the CDC.
A total of 161 pregnant women have died of COVID, the CDC said, with 22 deaths in August alone. Yet, less than a third of pregnant women have been vaccinated, the agency reported.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
For more on this story, go to NBC News.