The Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly effective in producing antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus during pregnancy, according to a new study. It also appears that some of the protective antibodies can be transmitted to fetuses via the placenta and to newborns via breast milk.
In the largest study on vaccines and pregnancies to date, scientists from Harvard, MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard report their findings in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. They examined 131 women in the United States who received the Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, of which 84 were pregnant, 31 were breastfeeding and 16 were not pregnant.
Although it is a very small group, it is very promising news. Equal levels of antibodies induced by the COVID-19 vaccine have been found in pregnant and lactating women, compared to non-pregnant women. The antibodies generated by the vaccine were present in all umbilical cord blood, indicating that they were being passed to the fetus, and in breast milk samples, indicating that they were being passed on to breastfed babies.
The data also showed no significant differences in post-vaccination reactions in pregnant and non-pregnant women, which implies that vaccines are safe to be administered during pregnancy.
Pregnant and lactating women were not included in the initial trials of the COVID-19 vaccine, which means that there was no concrete data on whether it was safe or effective. Considering that pregnant women are at high risk of contracting COVID-19, there was also a real need to verify that the vaccine was still effective.
This limited evidence also generated misinformation on social media, with some falsely claiming COVID-19 mRNA vaccines can cause fertility problems and impact pregnancy. These ideas were never taken seriously by scientists, but they did spread some understandable concern among people looking to start a family in the near future. This new study should allay some of those fears.
“This news of excellent vaccine efficacy is very encouraging for pregnant and breastfeeding women, who were left out of the initial testing of the COVID-19 vaccine,” Andrea Edlow, senior co-author of the new study, a specialist in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at MGH, and director of the Edlow Lab at the Vincent Center for Reproductive Biology, said in a demonstration.
“Filling information gaps with real data is critical – especially for our pregnant patients who are at a higher risk of complications with COVID-19. This study also highlights how anxious pregnant and lactating individuals are to participate in the research. “
Currently, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) informs that the question of whether pregnant women should receive the vaccine COVID-19 is a matter of “personal choice”. Although they admit that there are currently limited data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women, they note that “experts believe that they are unlikely to pose a specific risk to pregnant women”.
O UK Government has been more cautious, issuing the advice: “Vaccines have not yet been tested in pregnancy, so until more information is available, those who are pregnant should not get this vaccine routinely.”
Fortunately, this vital information is beginning to surface. CDC is recruiting people to join the v-safe pregnancy record to gather information on the health of pregnant women vaccinated with COVID-19.