evidence: COVID-19 vaccination is effective in reducing the risk of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women1,2, but high levels of vaccine hesitancy remain in pregnant populations. In England and Scotland, 59.5% and 63.0%, respectively, of women giving birth in January 2022 had received at least one prior dose of COVID-19 vaccination at any point, which was considerably lower than the coverage seen among the general population of reproductive age women at that time3,4,5. [...] A total of 18,780 pregnant women received COVID-19 vaccination between 6 weeks preconception and 19 + 6 weeks gestation (or the end of pregnancy if earlier) (Fig. 1). The characteristics of the vaccinated cohort, and the matched historical and contemporary control groups, are provided in Table 1. Compared to controls, vaccinated women were more likely to be from the least deprived areas. Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 was the most frequently received vaccine type, and around a quarter of the vaccinated women received two or more doses during the exposure period. Reflecting the roll out of the national vaccination programme in Scotland (Supplementary Fig. 1), most included vaccinations occurred in May to August 2021 (Fig. 2).