COVID-19 vaccinated pregnant women can pass protection to newborns

Antibodies can either be produced as part of the natural response to infection or triggered by vaccines.

A new study has found that women who receive the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy pass high levels of antibodies to their babies. The findings of the study were published in the 'American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology MFM'.

The effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, the researchers say, lies in their ability to trigger the production of the right antibodies, blood proteins capable of protecting individuals from infection. Whether this protection could pass from mothers to their infants before birth had remained a question. The new study of 36 newborns whose mothers received either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy found that 100 per cent of the infants had protective antibodies at birth.

Antibodies can either be produced as part of the natural response to infection or triggered by vaccines. With that in mind, the research team was able to tell apart antibodies in the neonatal blood that were created in response to natural infection from those made in response to the vaccines. The result is relevant because natural antibody responses against the SARS-CoV-2 virus are not sufficiently protective for many people.