February 15, 2022
2 min read
Source/Disclosures
Disclosures:
Meaney-Delman reports no relevant financial disclosures. Halasa reports receiving grant support from Sanofi and Quidel and honoraria from Genentech.
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Infants of mothers who were vaccinated during pregnancy were less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19, according to data published in MMWR.
“When people receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy, their bodies build antibodies to protect against COVID-19, and these antibodies have been found in umbilical cords, indicating that the antibodies have transferred from the pregnant person to the developing infant,” Dana Meaney-DelmanMD, MPH, FACOG, chief of the CDC Infant Outcomes Monitoring Research and Prevention Branch, said during a teleconference with the media. “While we know that these antibodies cross the placenta, until this study, we did not yet have data to demonstrate whether these antibodies might provide protection for the baby against COVID-19.”
Receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy was 61% effective in preventing COVID-19 hospitalization of infants aged younger than 6 months, according to researchers. Source: Adobe Stock.
Natasha B HalasaMD, mph, Craig Weaver Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, and colleagues examined data from 379 hospitalized infants aged younger than 6 months enrolled in the Overcoming COVID-19 Network — a test-negative, case-control study conducted from July 1 , 2021, to Jan. 17, 2022—who were born at 20 children’s hospitals in 17 states. They also noted whether the mother had received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy.
Among the infants enrolled in the study, 176 case infants had COVID-19 — 84% of whom had unvaccinated mothers — and 203 control infants did not. There was at least one underlying medical condition in 21% of infants, and 22% of both groups were born premature. They were admitted to the hospital at an average age of 2 months.
Completion of a two-dose vaccination series during pregnancy was 61% effective (95% CI, 31%-78%) in preventing infant hospitalization for COVID-19. The effectiveness of a completed two-dose series early in pregnancy was 32% (95% CI, –43% to 68%) — although the researchers said “the confidence interval was wide and should be interpreted with caution” — whereas the completed series in later pregnancy was 80% effective (95% CI, 55%-91%).
Among 43 case infants (24%) who were admitted to an ICU, 25 (15%) were critically ill and received life support, with one receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenator therapy. This infant and one infant who died both had unvaccinated mothers, as did mothers of 88% of case infants admitted to the ICU.
“These findings continue to emphasize the importance of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy to protect people who are pregnant, and also to protect their babies from being hospitalized with COVID,” Meaney-Delman said.
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