A South Florida health care worker received her first shot of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine when she was 36 weeks pregnant. Three weeks later, before receiving the second dose, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl who tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. The news is important because it suggests that when a pregnant woman receives the vaccine, she can transmit protective antibodies to her newborn.
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Reassuring news for women who are pregnant and unsure whether to get the vaccine.
The case is documented in a preprint (i.e., not yet peer-reviewed) study by Paul Gilbert, MD, and Chad Rudnick MD, who are both affiliated professors at Florida Atlantic University. The antibodies were detected immediately after the birth of the baby after a blood test from the umbilical cord, and according to the study, antibodies were detected again before the baby gave birth.
“We have shown that SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in a newborn’s cord blood sample are detectable after only a single dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine,” the authors wrote. “There is therefore potential for protection and infection risk reduction of Sars-CoV-2 with maternal vaccination.”
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The baby girl, whose month of birth was not included in the study, is thought to be the first in the US to be born with coronavirus antibodies.
What are antibodies, and why are they important?
“Antibodies are proteins synthesized by the immune system against something that identifies them as foreign,” says infectious disease expert Amesh A. Adalja, MD, senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Maryland. Health.
Antibodies cover pathogens (such as viruses), which facilitate the removal of the body, explains dr. Adalja. They also block the pathogen’s ability to bind to receptors in cells – and if they do not bind to those cells, they cannot infect the body, he adds. Antibodies also tend to stick in the body and provide protection against re-infection with the same disease.
Video: Modern launches COVID-19 vaccine on children (ABC News)
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Scientists already knew that mothers infected with COVID-19 could transmit antibodies to their babies. And it is known that other vaccines, including the flu shot, carry mother-to-baby antibodies through the placenta.
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Does this mean that pregnant women should get the vaccine?
Getting the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy has been a major topic of discussion recently. Pregnant women were not actively involved in late-stage clinical trials for any COVID-19 vaccines – including the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines currently available in the US – so there is no clear picture of the safety and efficiency. of the vaccines during pregnancy. And the authors of the preprint study do emphasize that more research is needed.
Last month, however, Pfizer announced that it was launching the first large-scale trial of pregnant women against pregnant women, which is expected to be completed in early 2023. register to track down pregnant women who get their shots. Johnson & Johnson said they plan to include pregnant women and their babies in further studies, as well as to gather information about pregnant women via their own registry.
Meanwhile, the new study may give pregnant women reassurance about COVID-19 vaccination. And other pre-print studies support the findings. Massachusetts General Hospital studied 131 women (84 pregnant, 31 breastfeeding and 16 non-pregnant) who all received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccinations. The pregnant and lactating women showed as strong immune responses as the control group – and antibodies were identified in the placenta and breast milk of each sample identified.
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A further preliminary study by Hadassah Medical Center in Israel found a strong supply of COVID-19 antibodies in 40 newborns whose mothers both received doses of Pfizer vaccine.
“I’m sure there are a lot of babies born with COVID-19 antibodies, and this is all great news,” said Rebecca C. Brightman, MD, a gynecologist in New York City and an assistant clinical professor in obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine on Mount Sinai, told Health.
Dr Brightman points out that the COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for pregnant women, as they are considered a risk group – and she has had patients who received the vaccine during pregnancy.
“I encourage all my patients and any woman with questions regarding the vaccine during pregnancy to check out the website of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for the most recent information and advice,” adds Dr. Brightman. .
The information in this story is accurate from the press time. However, as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, it is possible that some data have changed since publication. While Health strives to keep our stories as current as possible, we also encourage our readers to stay up to date with news and recommendations for their own communities through the CDC, WHO, and their local department of public health as resources.
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