Covid-19 vaccinations for pregnant women may keep infants out of hospital

Bloomberg : Covid-19 shots administered during pregnancy may keep infants six months or younger out of the hospital, in a study a CDC official says offers the first real-world evidence that antibodies passed onto the baby offer protection.

The study marks the latest findings to underscore the benefits of vaccination during pregnancy. It found that infants were 61% less likely to require hospitalisation from Covid-19 if their mother had received two doses of Pfizer Inc. or Moderna Inc.’s vaccines.

Among the babies hospitalised with Covid-19, 84% were born to people who didn’t get vaccinated. The study also found that 88% of babies requiring intensive care had unvaccinated mothers. The mother of the one baby who died during the study was unvaccinated.

“Unfortunately, vaccination of infants younger than six months old is not currently on the horizon, highlighting well why vaccination during pregnancy is so important for these young infants,” Dana Meaney-Delman, chief of the Infant Outcomes Monitoring Research and Prevention branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a press conference.

“While we know that these antibodies cross the placenta, until this study, we have not yet had data to demonstrate whether these antibodies might provide protection for the baby against Covid-19,” she said.

The CDC published its findings the same day that scientific advisers for the Food and Drug Administration were originally scheduled to review Pfizer’s vaccine for children between six months and 4 years old. The FDA last week postponed that meeting so Pfizer and its partner BioNTech SE could gather and evaluate more information on the impact of a third dose.

A group of researchers led by Manish M. Patel of the CDC’s Covid-19 Emergency Response Team analysed data from a network of 20 children’s hospitals in 17 states from July 2021 through January 17.

The CDC officials underscored that they aren’t changing their recommendations on when to vaccinate, even though the findings indicated a higher level of protection in individuals who got vaccinated later in their pregnancy. Comparisons of early and late pregnancy data aimed to test the strength of their findings, Patel said. The researchers didn’t look at the level of protection per trimester.

“Protection was high throughout the vaccination, throughout pregnancy,” Patel said.

Covid-19 infections during pregnancy have been linked to severe disease and a greater risk of developing severe pregnancy complications.

“While there are some vaccines that are given primarily to protect the baby, Covid-19 vaccines are critical to protect the pregnant individual, the pregnancy, and might actually help protect the baby as well,” Meaney-Delman said. “We recommend, as do many other medical organizations, to give a Covid vaccine at any point during pregnancy.”

When a pregnant person receives their primary shots during their first trimester, they can be eligible for a booster later in pregnancy, Meaney-Delman said. But the impact of a booster shot on antibody protection during pregnancy needs further study.

“That’s certainly something we’re looking into,” she said. “But for right now, we want to ensure that we are protecting both the mom and the infant.”

A survey published last year found people hoping to become pregnant in the next six months were less likely to get vaccinated out of fears of birth defects and unknown long-term impacts of the vaccines. The CDC’s vaccine data tracker shows vaccinations among pregnant people increased to about 67% overall, but Meaney-Delman noted there are differences among race and ethnicity. Hispanic pregnant persons have about a 53% vaccine coverage rate.

“The numbers are encouraging. They’re not quite where we need them to be,” said Meaney-Delman, a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist who said she encourages all her pregnant patients to get their shots.

“They often asked me whether the vaccine protects the baby. And this new study will undoubtedly factor into my future counseling session,” she said.