Vaccinations against COVID-19 during pregnancy can protect babies after birth and lead to fewer hospitalizations, suggests a US government study released Tuesday.
This is the first study to show possible benefits for babies born to people who received two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines during pregnancy, said researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). acronym in English) during a briefing.
It was known that antibodies developed by COVID-19 vaccines are transferred to the fetus through the umbilical cord, but how this might affect babies after birth was unknown.
“Before this study, we did not yet have data to show whether these antibodies could provide protection against COVID-19 to the baby,” said Dr. Dana Meaney-Delman, an obstetrician and CDC investigator.
Babies in the study received care at 20 hospitals in 17 states between July 2021 and mid-January, during the waves of delta and omicron variants.
The researchers did not look at infection rates in the babies. Instead, they examined data from 176 children younger than 6 months who were hospitalized for COVID-19 and 203 who were hospitalized for another condition. They also studied the vaccination status of all the mothers of the babies.
In mothers of babies with COVID-19, vaccination rates were much lower than in those whose babies were hospitalized for another reason: 16% vs. 32%. The results offer yet another reason for pregnant women to get vaccinated, the researchers said.
Around two-thirds of pregnant women in the United States have a complete vaccination schedule; most were vaccinated before pregnancy, according to CDC data.
Other vaccines, such as influenza and whooping cough, given during pregnancy are known to protect mothers and babies.
The study provides “another important piece of the puzzle,” said Dr. Denise Jamieson, chair of Emory University’s obstetrics and gynecology unit, calling the news important for babies who are too young to receive the flu vaccine. COVID-19.
While vaccines for older infants and young children are being studied, there are none on the horizon for infants younger than 6 months.
“Not surprising, but very reassuring,” Jamieson said.
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Tanner is on Twitter at: @LindseyTanner.
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