Covid-19: Vaccination During Pregnancy May Provide Infants Protection

A new study has revealed that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy may also help protect babies after they’re born.

The research published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this is so because of the transfer of antibodies through the placenta during pregnancy and through breast milk after birth.

“The bottom line is that maternal vaccination is a really important way to help protect these young infants,” said Dr. Dana Meaney-Delman, chief of the CDC’s Infant Outcome Monitoring, Research and Prevention branch.

For the study the researchers sampled data of 379 infants hospitalized for various reasons, including COVID, across 17 states from July 1, 2021 through Jan. 17.

“84% of the babies hospitalized with COVID were born to mothers who had not been vaccinated.”

The study further found that completion of a two-dose vaccine series later in pregnancy was more protective than earlier in pregnancy.

“If we have a woman who comes in in the first trimester and is vaccinated, she can actually be eligible for a booster vaccine later in pregnancy,” she said, but added it was premature for the agency to recommend boosters specifically for the pregnant.