A new study shows that coronavirus vaccines given during pregnancy may protect babies after they are born.
the study, released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that babies whose mothers were fully vaccinated with mRNA shots during pregnancy were 60 percent less likely to be hospitalized with the virus in the first six months of their lives. This protection appears to be stronger if the vaccination is given after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.
It is the first real evidence that a mother’s vaccination can benefit not only the mother but the child.
“The bottom line is that vaccinating the mother is a really important way to help protect these young children,” Dana Minnie Dillman, chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Infant Research Outcomes and Prevention Branch. “Today’s news is very welcome, especially given the recent increase in the number of hospital admissions among very young children.”
The CDC has had it for months Recommended Vaccination For pregnant or breastfeeding women or those planning to become pregnant, noting that pregnancy Increases the risk of serious problems from the virus. Studies have found higher risks of hospitalization, intensive care admission, and death compared to the non-pregnant population. The risk of premature birth and stillbirth is greater without vaccination.
Research on other diseases has found that immunization during pregnancy can provide protection for infants in the first six months of life. Recent studies have indicated that it may occur with coronavirus vaccines, but there was no epidemiological evidence for this prior to the study released on Tuesday.
The study included data on 379 infants who were hospitalized at 20 children’s hospitals in 17 states between July and January, including 176 with COVID-19.
Minnie-Delman said that more research is needed on the best timing and that, given the risks that COVID-19 poses to a pregnant woman, “once a pregnant woman is ready to be vaccinated, we recommend going ahead and doing so.”