A baby born in the city of Cortez in southwestern Colorado tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies after her mother received her second dose of the vaccine just weeks before delivery.
Reese Saunders was born on Feb. 24 at Southwest Memorial Hospital, her mother, Haley Saunders, said. She was upside down in the womb and needed a C-section, but Reese was an otherwise healthy baby.
Thanks to Haley Leonard
Reese Saunders, born on February 24, was born with COVID-19 antibodies in her blood after her mother received the second dose of vaccine a few weeks before she gave birth.
She also already had antibodies in her blood that could resist the new coronavirus.
“The risk of COVID-19 because of what I read to pregnant women was very high,” Haley Saunders said of her decision to plan her vaccinations earlier this year. She got her first shot in January. “I saw all these hospitalizations and people who could not meet their baby for days and weeks, and I just did not want to be in that situation.”
The first mother received her second dose in the first week of February, just a few weeks before Reese arrived. Haley and her husband Ryan Saunders brought Reese for a follow-up appointment to allow hospital staff to test their baby for antibodies. As first reported in The Journal in southwestern Colorado, little Reese’s blood was found to be rich in antibodies that fight the disease.
What this means for Reese, Haley Saunders said she’s not sure yet. Although there are fewer cases of COVID-19 in children compared to adults, the disease control centers warn that children can still carry and spread the virus.
The decision to be vaccinated was easy for Saunders, who works for a health care provider in the region, to take for her and her husband after talking to their doctor and reading the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ information on vaccinations has. during pregnancy. She said her side effects were minimal – nothing worse than some short-term pain and suffering – and now she is enjoying maternity leave and is looking forward to going back to work personally later this year.
‘I think everyone should make their own informed decision. It made sense for our family, ”she said. “I just know it’s going to be really nice to be normal again, and I can breathe a little easier because Reese has some antibodies, no matter what that means.”