• Emma Anderson, Amberly Brigden, Anna Davies, Emily Shepherd, and Jenny Ingram.
• Centre for Academic Child Health, Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, 1-5 Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 1NU. Electronic address: emma.anderson@bristol.ac.uk.
• Midwifery. 2021 Sep 1; 100: 103062.

BackgroundThere is suboptimal uptake of recommended maternal vaccines (pertussis and influenza) during pregnancy in the UK. The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare services, and potentially vaccine coverage, and brought the need for new vaccines to be tested and rolled out.ObjectivesTo explore: i) the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on pregnant women's access to, and attitudes towards, routine maternal vaccines and; ii) women's attitudes towards testing Covid-19 vaccines on pregnant women and their personal willingness to take part in such a trial.DesignQualitative interview study with pregnant women in the Bristol and surrounding area (UK).MethodsSemi-structured telephone/videoconference interviews were conducted (following a topic guide), transcribed verbatim and subjected to thematic analysis.ResultsThirty-one pregnant women (selected for demographic range) were interviewed in April/May 2020. Participants felt the pandemic had elevated the importance of routine maternal vaccines, though women were concerned about safety management around appointment attendance. Women were wary of receiving a new Covid-19 vaccine, with most perceiving it as riskier than Covid-19 itself.ConclusionsIt is important to maximise the safety and efficiency of maternity appointments to encourage uptake of routine maternal vaccines, and to communicate this well. For pregnant women to gain a new vaccine or participate in a vaccine trial, they need to be convinced that the risk posed by the virus is greater than any risk of receiving a new vaccine.Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

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