Pregnant women in Ontario can now receive a COVID-19 vaccine regardless of their age.
According to the province, the change is in light of new information showing pregnant women are at higher risk of severe illness once infected with the virus.
Windsor resident Rachel Senay is pregnant with her second child. She tells The Afternoon News data showing pregnant women are being sent to the ICU is alarming.
"It really made my decision a lot easier. I don't want to be one of those numbers ... I want to protect myself and my baby," she says. "That's why I was booked for my first vaccine within a couple hours of the announcement."
Senay says she was planning to wait until her third trimester to be vaccinated.
"With the variants that have been popping up, it made me nervous," she says. "After talking to my obstetrician (OB) at my last appointment, he said he 'vaccinates pregnant women with regular vaccines all the time and this is no different.'"
She says mothers in her support group are also looking at the vaccine.
"Either they're going to speak to their OB now that the announcement's come out or they've already spoken to their OB and have agreed the benefits of the vaccine out way the risks of getting COVID-19," she added.
Senay has been told she and other pregnant woman will be receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Anyone who is pregnant in Essex County can book an appointment through the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.
— with files from AM800's Patty Handysides.