A South Florida frontline healthcare professional received her first injection of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine when she was 36 weeks pregnant. Three weeks later, before receiving the second dose, she gave birth to a healthy girl who tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. The news is significant because it suggests that when a pregnant woman gets the vaccine, she can pass protective antibodies to the newborn.
© Provided by Health.com
Getty Images
© Provided by Health.com
Reassuring news for women who are pregnant and are not sure whether to get the vaccine.
The case is documented in a preprinted (ie, not yet peer-reviewed) study by Paul Gilbert, MD, and Chad Rudnick MD, who are both affiliated professors at Florida Atlantic University.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 baby was born, after an umbilical cord blood test, and the antibodies were detected again before delivery of the placenta, according to the study.
“We demonstrated that IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 are detectable in a newborn’s umbilical cord blood sample after just a single dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine,” wrote the authors. “Thus, there is potential to protect and reduce the risk of Sars-CoV-2 infection with maternal vaccination.”
RELATED: Modern Starts Trial of COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Under 12
The girl, whose month of birth was not included in the study, is considered the first in the United States to be born with antibodies to the coronavirus.
What are antibodies and why are they important?
“Antibodies are proteins synthesized by the immune system against something it identifies as foreign,” said infectious disease specialist Amesh A. Adalja, MD, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Safety in Maryland. Health.
Antibodies coat pathogens (like viruses), which facilitates their elimination from the body, explains Dr. Adalja. They also block the pathogen’s ability to bind to receptors on cells – and if they don’t bind to those cells, they can’t infect the body, he adds. Antibodies also tend to stick to the body, offering protection against reinfection with the same disease.
Video: Moderna starts testing COVID-19 vaccine in children (ABC News)
Click to expand
NEXT
Scientists already knew that mothers infected with COVID-19 can transfer antibodies to their babies. And other vaccines – including the flu vaccine – are known to carry antibodies from the mother to the baby across the placenta.
RELATED: Can Pregnant Women Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine? Here’s everything we know so far
Does this mean that pregnant women should get the vaccine?
Getting the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy has been a big point of discussion recently. Pregnant women were not actively involved in end-stage clinical trials for any COVID-19 vaccines – including the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines that are currently available in the USA – so there is no clear picture of the vaccine’s safety and efficacy during pregnancy. And the authors of the prepress study emphasize that more research is needed.
But last month, Pfizer announced that it had launched the first large-scale trial of its vaccine on pregnant women, which is expected to end in early 2023. Moderna has not yet started trials focusing on pregnancy, but the company has created a registry for track pregnant women who get their vaccines. Johnson & Johnson said it plans to include pregnant women and their babies in future studies, as well as collect data on pregnant women through their own registry.
In the meantime, the new study may give pregnant women some guarantees about obtaining the COVID-19 vaccine. And other prepress studies support the results. Massachusetts General Hospital studied 131 women (84 pregnant, 31 breastfeeding and 16 non-pregnant), who received all Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Pregnant and lactating women exhibited equally strong immune responses as the control group – and antibodies were identified in the placenta and breast milk of each sample taken.
RELATED: What is a Coronavirus Antibody Test – and Why the Test Matters
Another pre-printed study from Hadassah Medical Center in Israel found a strong supply of COVID-19 antibodies in 40 newborns whose mothers received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
“I am sure that many babies are being born with COVID-19 antibodies, and all are wonderful news,” Rebecca C. Brightman, MD, a gynecologist in New York City and an assistant clinical professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive medicine at the School of Icahn Medicine on Mount Sinai, says Health.
Dr. Brightman points out that the COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for pregnant women, as they are considered a risk group – and she had patients who received the vaccine during pregnancy.
“I encourage all my patients and any women with doubts about the vaccine during pregnancy to check out The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) website for the most up-to-date information and advice,” adds Dr. Brightman.
The information in this story is accurate at the time of publication. However, as the situation around COVID-19 continues to evolve, it is possible that some data has changed since publication. While Health is trying to keep our stories as current as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed about news and recommendations for their own communities using the CDC, WHO, and your local public health department as resources.
To have our top news delivered to your inbox, subscribe to the Healthy Living newsletter
Keep reading