A U.S. study has revealed that vaccinating pregnant women against COVID-19 may protect infants after birth and lead to fewer hospitalizations if they contract the virus. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated during a press briefing that this study is the first to show potential benefits for infants born to individuals who received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine during pregnancy. Prior to this study, there was insufficient data.
Dr. Dana Meaney-Delman, an obstetrician and researcher at the CDC, said, "Until this study, we did not have data to prove whether these antibodies provide protection to the infant against COVID-19." It was already known that antibodies developed by COVID vaccines transfer to the fetus through the umbilical cord; however, before this study, there was no data confirming whether those antibodies provide protection to the infant against COVID-19.
The infants in the study were treated at 20 hospitals across 17 states from July 2021 to mid-January, during surges in cases including the Delta and Omicron variants. The researchers examined data from 176 infants under the age of 6 months who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and 203 who were hospitalized for other health reasons.
