The ABC understands a pregnant woman in Newcastle is fighting for life after catching COVID-19, after she was unable to get a vaccine appointment.
The case comes as maternal and infant healthcare experts call for expectant mothers to be given priority access to the Pfizer vaccine.
The woman, who is 24 weeks pregnant, is in the intensive care unit at John Hunter Hospital.
The ABC understands she had tried to get a Pfizer vaccine but was unable to find a provider that could book her in.
Roger Smith, laureate professor at the Hunter Medical Research Institute and co-director of its pregnancy and research program, said he was "enormously frustrated".
"The Royal Australian New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) makes it very clear that pregnant women are at an increased risk and should be a priority group for Pfizer vaccination," Professor Smith said.
The body that advises the government on vaccines, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), as well as RANZCOG recommends pregnant women get the Pfizer vaccine.
It says no significant safety concerns have been identified with mRNA vaccines and babies may have some level of protection through antibodies in breast milk.
COVID dangers in pregnancy
The University of Newcastle's chair in obstetrics and gynaecology and professor in maternal fetal medicine, Craig Pennell, said it was important to note that the "vast majority" of pregnant women who contracted COVID recovered well.
But he said it was also important for women to understand that COVID could significantly increase the risk of pre-term birth and stillbirth.
"The primary concern for women in intensive care is that the load of being pregnant makes ventilation much more difficult," Professor Pennell said.
"And obviously if that is early in pregnancy then that can result in significant complications of pre-maturity."
According to the latest data, he said contracting COVID while pregnant increased the risk of pre-term birth by 50 per cent, nearly doubled the risk of stillbirth, and increased the risk of death by 60 per cent.
Professor Pennell said the recommendation to get vaccinated was clear, but that access to the Pfizer jab was a significant problem that needed to be addressed.
"In Newcastle, for example, if you apply now you may be given a date in October.
"I think that pregnant women should be given a higher priority for vaccination than they currently are."
Booking Pfizer jab 'a nightmare'
Expectant mother Caroline McCarthy, from Merewether, said it had been a struggle to get a booking for a Pfizer vaccine in Newcastle.
She said she was making daily calls to GPs to try to find any that had spare doses available.
"It was atrocious, it was a nightmare of an ordeal," she said.
Newcastle has a mass vaccination centre at Belmont, but Ms McCarthy said it was hard to get an appointment even at the state-run hub.
"I went out there a couple of times and got turned away or they said, 'You can wait in this line, but we don't know if you're going to get turned away'," she said.
After five weeks of trying, Ms McCarthy has finally been able to get her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
