The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged all pregnant women on Wednesday to get the COVID-19 vaccine as US continues to see more number of unvaccinated mothers-to-be seriously ill with the virus.

The CDC said that COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people 12 years and older, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future.

The agency had previously encouraged pregnant women to get vaccinated but had said that they should discuss it with their healthcare providers.

Although the overall risk of severe illness is low, pregnant and recently pregnant people are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 when compared with non-pregnant people, according to the CDC data.

The new guidelines comes after a CDC analysis of new safety data on 2,500 women showed no increased risks of miscarriage for those who received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine before 20 weeks of pregnancy, according to The Guardian.

The guidance is in line with the recommendations of top obstetrician groups, and comes at a time when the highly infectious Delta variant is ravaging the US.

It also said that there is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men.